Integrated methods of preparing renewable chemicals

ABSTRACT

Isobutene, isoprene, and butadiene are obtained from mixtures of C 4  and/or C 5  olefins by dehydrogenation. The C 4  and/or C 5  olefins can be obtained by dehydration of C 4  and C 5  alcohols, for example, renewable C 4  and C 5  alcohols prepared from biomass by thermochemical or fermentation processes. Isoprene or butadiene can be polymerized to form polymers such as polyisoprene, polybutadiene, synthetic rubbers such as butyl rubber, etc. in addition, butadiene can be converted to monomers such as methyl methacrylate, adipic acid, adiponitrile, 1,4-butadiene, etc. which can then be polymerized to form nylons, polyesters, polymethylmethacrylate etc.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl. No.61/293,459, filed Jan. 8, 2010, which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional transportation fuels and chemicals (e.g., monomers,polymers, plasticizers, adhesives, thickeners, aromatic and aliphaticsolvents, etc.) are typically derived from non-renewable raw materialssuch as petroleum. However, the production, transportation, refining andseparation of petroleum to provide transportation fuels and chemicals isproblematic in a number of significant ways.

For example, petroleum (e.g., crude oil and/or natural gas) productionposes a number of environmental concerns. First, the history ofpetroleum production includes many incidents where there have beenuncontrolled releases of crude petroleum during exploration andproduction (e.g., drilling) operations. While many of these incidentshave been relatively minor in scale, there have been a number ofincidents that have been significant in scale and environmental impact(e.g., BP's Deepwater Horizon incident, Mississippi Canyon, Gulf ofMexico, 2010).

World petroleum supplies are finite. Thus, as world petroleum demand hasincreased (84,337 M bpd worldwide in 2009; US Energy InformationAdministration), easily accessible reserves have been depleted.Accordingly, petroleum exploration and production operations are morefrequently conducted in remote and/or environmentally sensitive areas(e.g., deepwater offshore, arctic regions, wetlands, wildlife preserves,etc.). Some remote locations require highly complex, technicallychallenging solutions to locate and produce petroleum reserves (e.g.,due to low temperatures, water depth, etc.). Accordingly, the potentialfor large-scale environmental damage resulting from uncontrolleddischarge of petroleum during such complex, technically challengingexploration and production operations is substantively increased.

In addition, when petroleum is produced in remote areas and/or areaswhich do not have infrastructure (e.g., refineries) to further processpetroleum into useful products, the produced petroleum must betransported (e.g., via pipeline, rail, barge, ship, etc.), often oversignificant distances, to terminal points where the petroleum productsmay be refined and/or processed. Transportation of petroleum is also anoperation with associated risk of accidental discharge of petroleum inthe environment, with concomitant environmental damage, and there havebeen a number of significant incidents (e.g., Exxon's Valdez tankerspill, Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1989). Furthermore, much of theworld's proven petroleum reserves are located in regions which arepolitically unstable. Accordingly, supplies of petroleum from suchregions may be uncertain since production of petroleum or transportationof petroleum products from such regions may be interrupted.

Petroleum is a complex mixture of chemical compounds. Crude petroleumcomprises chemical entities from very the simple, e.g., helium andmethane prevalent in natural gas, to the complex, e.g., asphaltenes andheterocyclic organic compounds prevalent in heavy, sour crude oil.Furthermore, crude petroleum is typically co-produced with varyingamounts of formation water (e.g., water from the rock formation fromwhich the petroleum was produced), often as stable emulsion, with salts,metals and other water-soluble compounds dissolved in the formationwater. Crude oil may also contain varying amounts of particulate salts,metals, sediments, etc. Accordingly, crude oil streams are typicallydesalted, then allowed to settle and phase-separate into crude and waterfractions, reducing the water content of the crude and the level ofundesired components such as salts, metals, silt, sediment, etc. whichmay be present in the crude. Such undesired components are generallyproblematic in further processing and/or refining of petroleum intocommercially useful fractions. For example, certain unit operations inthe refining process may be sensitive to water, salt or sediment.Further, piping, storage and process vessels employed in the transport,storage and processing of petroleum is prone to corrosion, which may beaccelerated and/or exacerbated by the presence of salt and/or water inthe petroleum feedstock.

Desalting processes typically require the use of large quantities ofwater, which also may be heated, to extract salt and soluble metals fromthe crude oil. Further, the crude stream to be desalted is alsogenerally heated to effect mixing with the extraction water. Theresulting emulsions may then be treated with demulsifying agent andallowed to settle prior to further processing. Such desalting (andsettling) may be time consuming, and may require (i) large quantities ofwater to extract the undesirable components, (ii) large amounts ofenergy to heat the water and/or crude stream(s) to effect mixing, and(iii) the use of substantial quantities of chemical agents to treat thecrude (e.g., demulsifiers). As a result, large quantities ofcontaminated water are produced in desalting operation which must betreated to remove residual oil, dissolved salts, metals, water-solubleorganics, demulsifiers, etc.

Furthermore, crude petroleum from regions, different subterraneanreservoirs within a region, or even from different strata within asingle field may have different chemical compositions. For example,crude oils can range from “light, sweet” oils which generally floweasily, and have a higher content of lower molecular weight hydrocarbonsand low amounts of contaminants such as sulfur, to heavy, sour oils,which may contain a large fraction of high molecular weighthydrocarbons, large amounts of salts, sulfur, metals and/or othercontaminants, and may be very viscous and require heating to flow.Furthermore, the relative amounts of the constituent fractions (e.g.,light, low molecular weight hydrocarbons vs. heavier, higher molecularweight hydrocarbons) of the various grades or types of crude oil variesconsiderably. Thus, the chemical composition of the feedstock for arefinery may vary significantly, and as a result, the relative amountsof the hydrocarbon streams produced may vary as a function of the crudefeed.

Once the crude feedstock is sufficiently treated to remove undesiredimpurities or contaminants, it can then be subject to further processingand/or refining. The crude feedstock is typically subject to an initialdistillation, wherein the various fractions of the crude are separatedinto distillate fractions based on boiling point ranges. This is aparticularly energy intensive process, as this separation is typicallyconducted on a vast scale, and most or all of the feedstock is typicallyheated in the distillation unit(s) to produce various distillatefractions. Furthermore, since the crude composition is quite complex,containing hundreds of compounds (if not more), each fraction maycontain many different compounds, and the composition and yield of eachdistillate fraction may vary depending on the type and composition ofcrude feedstock. Depending on the desired product distribution on theback end of a refining operation, a number of additional refining stepsmay be performed to further refine and/or separate the distillatestreams, each of which may require additional equipment and energyinput.

For example, higher boiling fractions from an initial distillation maybe subject to further distillation (e.g., under vacuum) to separate themixture even further. Alternatively, heavy fractions from an initialdistillation may be subject to “cracking” (e.g., catalytic cracking) athigh temperatures to reduce the average molecular weight of thecomponents of the feed stream. Since lighter hydrocarbon fractions(e.g., containing less than 20 carbon atoms) generally have greatercommercial value and utility than heavier fractions (e.g., thosecontaining more than 20 carbon atoms), cracking may be performed toincrease the value and/or utility of a stream from an initialdistillation. However, such cracking operations are typically veryenergy intensive since high temperatures (e.g., 500° C.) are generallyrequired to effect the breakdown of higher molecular weight hydrocarbonsinto lower molecular weight components. Furthermore, the output fromsuch cracking operations is also a complex mixture, and accordingly, mayrequire additional separation (e.g., distillation) to separate theoutput stream into useful and/or desired fractions having targetspecifications, e.g., based on boiling point range or chemicalcomposition.

Accordingly, the various components streams produced from petroleumrefining and/or processing are generally mixtures. The homogeneity orheterogeneity of those mixtures may be a factor of the character of thecrude feedstock, the conditions at which separations are conducted, thecharacteristics of a cracked stream, and the specifications of an enduser for purity of a product stream. However, in practical terms, higherpurity streams will require more rigorous separation conditions toisolate a desired compound from related compounds with similar boilingpoints (e.g., compounds having boiling points within 20, 10, or 5° C. ofeach other). Such rigorous separations generally require large processunits (e.g., larger distillation columns) to separate more closelyrelated compounds (e.g., compounds which have relatively close boilingpoints).

Furthermore, in addition to the above-described environmental concernsand energy/infrastructure costs associated with petroleum production andrefining, there is mounting concern that the use of petroleum as a basicraw material in the production of chemical feedstocks and fuelscontributes to environmental degradation (e.g., global warming) viageneration and/or release of oxides of carbon. For example, burning agallon of typical gasoline produces over 19 pounds of carbon dioxide.Because no carbon dioxide is consumed by a refinery in the manufactureof gasoline, the net carbon dioxide produced from burning a gallon ofpetroleum-derived gasoline is at least as great as the amount of carboncontained in the fuel, and is typically higher when the combustion ofadditional petroleum required to power the refinery (e.g., forseparation of petroleum to produce the gasoline) and to power thetransportation vehicles, pumps along pipelines, ships, etc. that bringthe fuel to market is considered. Likewise, the production of basicchemicals (e.g., ethylene, propylene, butenes, butadiene, and aromaticssuch as benzene, toluene, and xylenes) from petroleum does not consumecarbon dioxide, and the energy required to power the refinery to producesuch chemicals and the transportation vehicles to deliver thosechemicals also generate carbon dioxide.

In contrast to fossil fuels and petroleum derived chemicals, the netcarbon dioxide produced by burning a gallon of biofuel or biofuel blend,or by producing biomass derived chemicals is less than the net carbondioxide produced by burning a gallon of petroleum derived fuel or inproducing chemicals from petroleum. In addition, biomass-derivedchemical and fuel production has far fewer environmental hazardsassociated with it, since production of biomass-derived fuels requiresno drilling operations. Further, biomass-derived chemical and fuelfacilities can be located in a wide range of locations relative topetroleum refineries, essentially almost anywhere appropriate feedstocksare available (e.g., where sufficient amounts of suitable plant matterare available). Thus, the requirement for transport of feedstock canminimized, as are the associated energy costs of such transport.Further, even if transport of raw materials is needed, the environmentalhazards of a spill of a typical biomass feedstock (e.g., corn) arenegligible. Furthermore, biomass-derived product streams are typicallyfar less complex mixtures than product streams from petroleum refiningoperations. Thus, far less energy may be required to obtain high purityproduct streams from biomass-based chemical production operations.

However, most biofuels and biomass-derived organic chemicals areproduced from relatively expensive feedstocks (compared to petroleum),or are produced by processes which may be relatively inflexible orcannot readily adapt to changes in raw material costs or product prices.As a result, many biomass-based processes have difficulty competingeconomically with petroleum-based (e.g. refinery) processes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an integrated process for producinga mixture of renewable biofuels and/or biofuel precursors, as well as avariety of different renewable chemicals from renewable ethanol andrenewable isobutanol.

In various embodiments, the present invention is directed to anintegrated process for preparing renewable hydrocarbons from renewableisobutanol and renewable ethanol, comprising dehydrating the renewableisobutanol, thereby forming a renewable butene mixture comprising one ormore renewable linear butenes and renewable isobutene; dehydrating therenewable ethanol, thereby forming renewable ethylene; and reacting atleast a portion of the renewable butene mixture and at least a portionof the renewable ethylene to form one or more renewable C₃-C₁₆ olefins.

In other embodiments, the integrated process further comprises formingrenewable hydrogen by one or more of: (i) dehydrogenating at least aportion of linear butenes formed by dehydrating renewable isobutanoland/or one or more renewable C₄-C₁₆ olefins isolated from renewableC₃-C₁₆ olefins formed from reacting at least a portion of a renewablebutene mixture and at least a portion of a renewable ethylene stream,thereby forming one or more renewable C₄-C₁₆ dienes and renewablehydrogen; (ii) dehydrocyclizing at least a portion of one or morerenewable C₆-C₁₆ olefins isolated from the renewable C₃-C₁₆ olefinsformed from reacting at least a portion of a renewable butene mixtureand at least a portion of a renewable ethylene stream, thereby formingone or more renewable C₆-C₁₆ aromatics and renewable hydrogen; (iii)dehydrocyclizing at least a portion of one or more renewable C₆-C₁₆dienes isolated from the renewable C₄-C₁₆ dienes formed bydehydrogenating at least a portion of linear butenes formed bydehydrating renewable isobutanol and/or one or more renewable C₄-C₁₆olefins isolated from renewable C₃-C₁₆ olefins formed from reacting atleast a portion of a renewable butene mixture and at least a portion ofa renewable ethylene stream, to form one or more renewable C₆-C₁₆aromatics and renewable hydrogen. The integrated process may alsocomprise hydrogenating at least a portion of the renewable C₃-C₁₆ olefinstream with renewable hydrogen, thereby forming a renewable saturatedhydrocarbon fuel or fuel additive.

In still other embodiments, the process of the present invention furthercomprises controlling the total amount of renewable hydrogen produced bysaid dehydrogenating and/or dehydrocyclizing, so that the total amountof renewable hydrogen produced is consumed by hydrogenating therenewable C₃-C₁₆ olefins.

In other embodiments, the process of the present invention furthercomprises forming the one or more renewable C₃-C₁₆ olefins bydisproportionation, metathesis, oligomerization, isomerization,alkylation, and combinations thereof.

The present integrated processes provide a flexible, environmentallysound method or system for producing biomass-derived chemicals, fuelsand/or fuel blends. The present integrated process may provide productstreams which can be readily and flexibly adapt to different biomassfeedstocks, and may produce different mixtures of renewable productsbased on market demand. The present integrated process may alsoadvantageously provide product streams having well-defined, predictablechemical compositions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the formation of butene isomers fromthe dehydration of isobutanol.

FIG. 2 is a schematic of a unit operation for dehydrating isobutanol toisobutene (isobutylene).

FIG. 3 is a plot of butene isomer equilibrium composition as a functionof dehydration temperature.

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a method of preparing C₅ dienes (e.g.,isoprene) from C₄ olefins (e.g., isobutene) by the Prins reaction.

FIG. 5 is a schematic of the dehydrogenation of n-butane.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of the dehydrogenation of 1-butene to1,3-butadiene.

FIG. 7 is a schematic of the acid-catalyzed rearrangement of isobutene

FIG. 8 is a schematic of the formation of benzene, acetone, propyleneoxide, phenol, and bisphenol A from renewable propylene.

FIG. 9 is a schematic of the formation of butyraldehyde,isobutyraldehyde, n-butanol, isobutanol, 2-ethylhexanol, and2-ethylhexanoic acid from propylene and ethylene.

FIG. 10 is a schematic of an integrated process for converting renewableisobutanol to renewable p-xylene.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

All documents cited herein are incorporated by reference in theirentirety for all purposes to the same extent as if each individualdocument was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporatedby reference.

DEFINITIONS

“Renewably-based” or “renewable” denote that the carbon content of therenewable alcohol (and olefin, di-olefin, etc., or subsequent productsprepared from renewable alcohols, olefins, di-olefins, etc. as describedherein), is from a “new carbon” source as measured by ASTM test method D6866-05, “Determining the Biobased Content of Natural Range MaterialsUsing Radiocarbon and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry Analysis”,incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. This test methodmeasures the ¹⁴C/¹²C isotope ratio in a sample and compares it to the¹⁴C/¹²C isotope ratio in a standard 100% biobased material to givepercent biobased content of the sample. “Biobased materials” are organicmaterials in which the carbon comes from recently (on a human timescale) fixated CO₂ present in the atmosphere using sunlight energy(photosynthesis). On land, this CO₂ is captured or fixated by plant life(e.g., agricultural crops or forestry materials). In the oceans, the CO₂is captured or fixated by photosynthesizing bacteria or phytoplankton.For example, a biobased material has a ¹⁴C/¹²C isotope ratio greaterthan 0. Contrarily, a fossil-based material has a ¹⁴C/¹²C isotope ratioof about 0. The term “renewable” with regard to compounds such asalcohols or hydrocarbons (olefins, di-olefins, polymers, etc.) alsorefers to compounds prepared from biomass using thermochemical methods(e.g., Fischer-Tropsch catalysts), biocatalysts (e.g., fermentation), orother processes, for example as described herein.

A small amount of the carbon atoms of the carbon dioxide in theatmosphere is the radioactive isotope ¹⁴C. This ¹⁴C carbon dioxide iscreated when atmospheric nitrogen is struck by a cosmic ray generatedneutron, causing the nitrogen to lose a proton and form carbon of atomicmass 14 (¹⁴C), which is then immediately oxidized to carbon dioxide. Asmall but measurable fraction of atmospheric carbon is present in theform of ¹⁴CO₂. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is processed by green plantsto make organic molecules during the process known as photosynthesis.Virtually all forms of life on Earth depend on this green plantproduction of organic molecules to produce the chemical energy thatfacilitates growth and reproduction. Therefore, the ¹⁴C that forms inthe atmosphere eventually becomes part of all life forms and theirbiological products, enriching biomass and organisms which feed onbiomass with ¹⁴C. In contrast, carbon from fossil fuels does not havethe signature ¹⁴C:¹²C ratio of renewable organic molecules derived fromatmospheric carbon dioxide. Furthermore, renewable organic moleculesthat biodegrade to CO₂ do not contribute to global warming as there isno net increase of carbon emitted to the atmosphere.

Assessment of the renewably based carbon content of a material can beperformed through standard test methods, e.g. using radiocarbon andisotope ratio mass spectrometry analysis. ASTM International (formallyknown as the American Society for Testing and Materials) has establisheda standard method for assessing the biobased content of materials. TheASTM method is designated ASTM-D6866.

The application of ASTM-D6866 to derive “biobased content” is built onthe same concepts as radiocarbon dating, but without use of the ageequations. The analysis is performed by deriving a ratio of the amountof radiocarbon (¹⁴C) in an unknown sample compared to that of a modernreference standard. This ratio is reported as a percentage with theunits “pMC” (percent modern carbon). If the material being analyzed is amixture of present day radiocarbon and fossil carbon (containing verylow levels of radiocarbon), then the pMC value obtained correlatesdirectly to the amount of biomass material present in the sample.

Throughout the present specification, reference to alcohols, olefins,di-olefins, etc., and higher molecular weight materials (e.g.,isooctene/isooctane, polymers, copolymers, etc.) made from suchcompounds is synonymous with “renewable” alcohols, “renewable” olefins,“renewable” di-olefins, etc., and “renewable” materials (e.g.,“renewable” isooctene/isooctane, “renewable” polymers, “renewable”copolymers, etc.) unless otherwise indicated. Unless otherwisespecified, all such chemicals produced by the integrated processesdescribed herein are renewable unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Throughout the present specification, the terms “olefin” and “alkene”are used interchangeably to refer to a hydrocarbon having at least onecarbon-carbon double bond, Alkenes or olefins having two carbon-carbondouble bonds can be referred to as dienes, and if the two carbon-carbondouble bonds are adjacent in the molecule (e.g., four adjacent sp²carbon atoms), the molecule can be termed a conjugated diene.

The renewable alcohols, olefins, di-olefins, polymers, aliphatic andaromatic organic compounds, etc. of the present invention have pMCvalues of at least about 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55,60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, inclusive of all values andsubranges therebetween.

Throughout the present specification, the term “about” may be used inconjunction with numerical values and/or ranges. The term “about” isunderstood to mean those values near to a recited value. For example,“about 40 [units]” may mean within +25% of 40 (e.g., from 30 to 50),within ±20%, ±15%, ±10%, ±9%, ±8%, ±7%, ±6%, ±5%, ±4%, ±3%, ±2%, ±1%,less than ±1%, or any other value or range of values therein ortherebelow. Furthermore, the phrases “less than about [a value]” or“greater than about [a value]” should be understood in view of thedefinition of the term “about” provided herein.

Throughout the present specification, numerical ranges are provided forcertain quantities. It is to be understood that these ranges compriseall subranges therein. Thus, the range “from 50 to 80” includes allpossible ranges therein (e.g., 51-79, 52-78, 53-77, 54-76, 55-75, 60-70,etc.). Furthermore, all values within a given range may be an endpointfor the range encompassed thereby (e.g., the range 50-80 includes theranges with endpoints such as 55-80, 50-75, etc.).

Throughout the present specification, the words “a” or “an” areunderstood to mean “one or more” unless explicitly stated otherwise.Further, the words “a” or “an” and the phrase “one or more” may be usedinterchangeably.

Overall Process

In various embodiments, the present invention is directed to anintegrated process for preparing various renewable hydrocarbons fromrenewable ethanol and renewable isobutanol. The renewable ethanol andisobutanol can be sold as commodity chemicals directly, or dehydrated totheir respective olefins (e.g. ethylene and isobutene and one or morerenewable linear butenes—typically a mixture of isobutene, 1-butene andcis/trans-2-butene). The renewable ethylene and renewable butenes canthen also either be sold directly, or further processed (e.g., separatedor reacted) in a variety of different ways to produce a wide variety ofrenewable hydrocarbon product streams. In certain embodiments, furtherprocessing may comprise mixing the renewable ethylene and/or buteneswith ethylene and/or butylene produced by conventional methods (e.g.,petroleum cracking) to produce an array of hydrocarbon compoundscomprising renewable carbon. Accordingly, such compounds, while notcomposed solely of renewable carbon, still comprise at least somerenewable carbon, with concomitant environmental advantages as describedherein.

For example, one renewable hydrocarbon product stream is renewableethylene, produced from dehydration of renewable ethanol. The renewableethylene produced thereby is generally of very high purity, and iseasily separated from the unreacted feedstock of the dehydrationreaction (typically aqueous ethanol and catalyst) by removal of theproduced ethylene from the reaction space as a gas stream. The renewableethylene can then be either sold directly as a feedstock, orsubsequently converted to higher value renewable hydrocarbons, such ashigher molecular weight olefins produced by oligomerization reactions(e.g. dimers, trimers, etc.), polymerized to form renewablepolyethylene, oxidized form renewable ethylene oxide (which can besubsequently be polymerized to form renewable polyethylene oxide, orconverted to other renewable polyethylene oxide derivatives), convertedto dichloroethane (for subsequent conversion to vinyl chloride andpolymerization thereof), used as a renewable feedstock for alkylatingother olefins or aromatics (e.g., alkylation of benzene to produceethylbenzene), etc.

Another renewable hydrocarbon product stream is renewable butene,produced from the dehydration of renewable isobutanol. The renewablebutene formed thereby is typically a tunable mixture of butene isomers,which is easily separated from the isobutanol feed to the dehydrationreaction, and can be sold directly as a mixture, reacted as a mixture toform other hydrocarbons (e.g., polybutenes), or the mixture of renewablebutene isomers can be separated (e.g., by distillation, by selectiveconversion, etc.) into individual butene isomers, which can then eitherbe sold individually as feedstocks, polymerized (e.g. to renewablepolyisobutylene or butene copolymers), oligomerized (e.g., dimerized,trimerized, etc.) to form higher molecular weight olefins (e.g.isooctene or pentamethylheptenes), isomerized (e.g. isobutene isomerizedto linear butenes, 1-butene isomerized to 2-butene, or 2-buteneisomerized to 1-butene, etc.), dehydrogenated (e.g. to butadiene), aswell as combinations of such processes, etc. In particular, isobutenedimers and trimers can be hydrogenated to provide, e.g., renewableisooctane and renewable pentamethylheptenes, both of which are usefulas, e.g., renewable transportation fuels or renewable additives fortransportation fuels.

In addition, the renewable olefins provided by the integrated processesdescribed herein can also be reacted together, e.g., disproportionated,to provide olefins of varying carbon number (e.g., 3, 5, 7, etc.). Forexample, renewable ethylene and renewable 2-butene produced as describedherein can be disproportionated using appropriate conditions (e.g., anappropriate metathesis catalyst) to provide renewable propylene.Renewable propylene produced by such a disproportionation process can besold directly as a feedstock, or subsequently converted to other highervalue renewable hydrocarbons by, e.g., oligomerization to produce higherolefins (e.g. dimers, trimers, etc.), polymerization to formpolypropylene, oxidation to form propylene oxide (which can besubsequently be polymerized to form renewable polypropylene oxide, orconverted to other renewable polypropylene oxide derivatives), oxidationto form acrylic acid (which may be further reacted to form a range ofcommercially significant acrylic esters), reaction with ammonia andoxygen to form acrylonitrile, reaction with benzene to produce acetoneand phenol (e.g., via the cumene process), etc.

Similarly, disproportionation and/or oligomerization reactions ofethylene, butenes, propylene and oligomers thereof can be combined invarious ways to produce a range of olefins having a desired number ofcarbon atoms. The various mono-olefins produced by such reactions can bedehydrogenated to form dienes or other polyenes (trienes, etc.) andrenewable hydrogen as a valuable co-product. In addition, olefins and/orpolyenes produced by these reactions can also be dehydrocyclized to formcyclic olefins (e.g., cyclohexene) or aromatics (e.g., benzene,xylenes), which also produces renewable hydrogen. Furthermore, thereactivity of olefins is suited to selective introduction of heteroatomsinto the above-described olefins (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, halogens,etc.), allowing access to a broad array of derivatives.

Thus, beginning with simple, renewable ethanol and isobutanolfeedstocks, the integrated process of the present invention can provideessentially all of the commercially important hydrocarbons currentlyproduced in petrochemical refineries (e.g., ethylene, propylene,butenes, butadiene, xylenes such as p-xylene, toluene, and benzene), andwhen coupled with additional processes, can produce virtually any fuelor chemical. In particular, the present invention provides a method forthe production of benzene and xylene, commodity chemicals which serve asthe building blocks from a vast array of intermediates and finishedproducts. Furthermore, when the ethanol and isobutanol feedstocks arerenewable, produced from biomass or other biological sources, theintegrated process of the present invention can produce renewablehydrocarbons corresponding to the petroleum-derived hydrocarbonsproduced in a conventional petroleum refinery in a more environmentallysound and sustainable fashion. Further still, even in cases where theuse of solely, renewable feedstocks is not feasible and/or economical,supplementing traditional petroleum-derived hydrocarbon feedstocks(e.g., ethylene, butenes, etc.) with renewable feedstocks in integratedchemical processing and/or manufacturing operations can still providesubstantive advantages (e.g., reduced environmental impact, carbonfootprint, etc.) relative to traditional, “petroleum-only” operations.

In contrast to the present methods, petroleum-derived ethylene, butenesand/or propylene are typically produced in catalytic cracking of highermolecular weight hydrocarbons, as component in a complex mixture ofhydrocarbons. Such mixtures typically include, among a range of productcompounds, low molecular weight olefins such as propylene, butene, andbutadiene, which may be difficult to separate due to their similarboiling points. Accordingly, purifying such a stream to produce ahigh-purity ethylene, propylene, butenes, or butadiene fractions istypically an energy intensive process. In fact, mixtures of ethylene,propylene, butene and butadiene are often sold directly as liquefiedmixtures by refineries, as a commodity, rather than separating theindividual fractions, due to the costs of equipment and energy requiredto separate the various components of such mixtures. However, ifdesired, the present integrated processes can provide such a mixtureanalogous to that provided by refinery cracking processes, thussupplying a typical refinery product for end users who rely on suchmixed feedstocks. Furthermore, mixtures of hydrocarbons produced by thepresent methods typically have a well-defined composition due to thelimited number of possible products associated with each individualprocess or reactive step. Accordingly, the present integrated methodsmay provide higher purity products requiring less additional processingand/or energy to separate. Alternatively, the present integrated processmay provide mixed streams with simpler, well-defined compositions.

The relative amounts of product outputs produced in the processesdescribed herein can be flexibly adjusted in various ways to adjust to,e.g., changing market demand for specific product streams or to maximizethe overall value of the products produced. For example, the relativeamounts of ethanol and isobutanol supplied to the process of the presentinvention can be adjusted, or the relative amounts of, e.g., ethyleneand isobutene (and/or linear butenes, etc.) supplied to various unitoperations can be adjusted to vary the product mix, and thereby maximizethe economic value of the products produced. Since the catalystsdescribed herein for producing renewable ethanol and renewableisobutanol use similar biomass raw material, the relative output from agiven unit input of biomass can be adjusted as desired to a higher orlower fraction of either ethanol or isobutanol. As a result, varyingdemand for products produced downstream can be accommodated by adjustingrelative production of ethanol and isobutanol (and intermediates and/orproducts subsequently formed therefrom).

For example, if market demand and/or market price for ethylene (orproducts formed therefrom) is high, the relative amount of ethanolfeedstock can be increased, and accordingly, the amount of ethyleneproduced via dehydration of ethanol can be increased. Similarly, ifmarket demand and/or market price for butylene(s) (or products formedtherefrom) is high, the relative amount of isobutanol feedstock can beincreased, and accordingly, the amount of butylene(s) produced viadehydration of isobutanol can be increased. In another case, if marketdemand and/or market price for propylene (or products prepared frompropylene) increases, the relative amounts of renewable ethanol andisobutanol fed into the process can be adjusted to optimize the relativeamounts of ethylene and 2-butene feedstocks for subsequentdisproportionation to propylene. Similarly, in situations where fuelprices are high and/or fuel demand is high, the amount of isobutanolrelative to ethanol fed into the process of the present invention can beincreased to maximize production of isooctene and/or pentamethylheptenes(dimer and trimer of isobutylene), and optionally the relative amount ofolefins fed to dehydrocyclization could be increased in order to supplythe necessary hydrogen to reduce the isooctene and/orpentamethylheptenes to the respective isooctane and pentamethylheptenes.

Alternatively, if it is desirable to maximize the production ofaromatics and dienes such as butadiene, the process can be adjusted tomaximize production of butadiene and aromatics such as benzene andxylenes (and/or products downstream such as styrene, cumene, etc.), andthe excess hydrogen produced from dehydrogenation of linear butenes tobutadiene or aromatic-forming cyclodehydrogenations can be sold orutilized to hydrogenate isooctene and/or pentamethylheptenes toisooctane (e.g., for gasoline) and/or pentamethylheptanes (e.g., for jetfuel). Thus, the amount and composition of feedstocks fed to the presentintegrated process, and the relative quantities of produced product inthe various unit operations described herein can be increased ordecreased to maximize the overall value of the products produced whileensuring complete utilization of the renewable carbon and optionallyhydrogen produced in the integrated process.

In certain embodiments, the process of the present invention utilizesmost or all of all the carbon in the ethanol and isobutanol feedstock,and most or all of the renewable hydrogen produced by dehydrogenationand/or dehydrocyclization reactions, to form a renewable saturatedhydrocarbon fuel or fuel active product stream and one or moreadditional high-value product streams. Within the constraint of completeutilization of carbon and hydrogen produced in the process, the amountof saturated hydrocarbon fuel or fuel additive and the selection andamount of other high-value product streams can be adjusted to meetvariations in market demand and market value for different productstreams.

Production of Alcohols

The processes of the present invention for making renewablecompositions, as described herein, typically begin with the formation ofrenewable alcohols (e.g., renewable ethanol and renewable isobutanol),e.g., from biomass. The term “formation from biomass” includes anycombination of methods including fermentation, thermochemical (e.g.,Fischer-Tropsch), photosynthesis, etc. Renewable alcohol (e.g., ethanoland isobutanol) streams can be prepared from biomass, by the samemethod, or by different methods, or portions of the ethanol and/orisobutanol can be prepared by a combination of different methods. Arange of renewable alcohols, e.g., ethanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol,isobutanol, tert-butanol, pentanols, etc. (and the correspondingrenewable olefins or other chemicals) may be produced and employed inthe integrated processes described herein,

When renewable ethanol and renewable isobutanol are formed byfermentation, the feedstock for the fermentation process can be anysuitable fermentable feedstock known in the art, for example sugarsderived from agricultural crops such as sugarcane, corn, etc.Alternatively, the fermentable feedstock can be prepared by thehydrolysis of biomass, for example lignocellulosic biomass (e.g. wood,corn stover, switchgrass, herbiage plants, ocean biomass, etc.). Thelignocellulosic biomass can be converted to fermentable sugars byvarious processes known in the art, for example acid hydrolysis,alkaline hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis, or combinations thereof. Insuch processes, the carbohydrate component of the biomass (e.g.cellulose and hemicellulose) are broken down by hydrolysis to theirconstituent sugars, which can then be fermented by suitablemicroorganisms as described herein to provide ethanol or isobutanol.

Typically, woody plants comprise about 40-50% cellulose, 20-30%hemicellulose, and 20-28% lignin, with minor amounts of minerals andother organic extractives. The cellulose component is a polysaccharidecomprising glucose monomers coupled with β-1,4-glycoside linkages. Thehemicellulose component is also a polysaccharide, but comprising variousfive-carbon sugars (usually xylose and arabinose), six-carbon sugars(galactose, glucose, and mannose), and 4-O-methyl glucuronic acid andgalacturonic acid residues. The cellulose and hemicellulose componentsare hydrolyzed to fermentable five- and six-carbon sugars which can thenbe used as a feedstock for the fermentation as described herein.Residual carbon compounds, lignin (a highly branched polyphenolicsubstance), and organic extractives (e.g., waxes, oils, alkaloids,proteins, resins, terpenes, etc.) can be separated from the sugars atvarious stages of the hydrolysis process and utilized in various ways,for example, burned has a fuel to provide energy/heat for thefermentation process and/or for subsequent processes (e.g., dehydration,oligomerization, dehydrogenation, etc.).

In one embodiment, the ethanol and isobutanol are both formed by one ormore fermentation steps as described herein. Any suitable microorganismcan be used to prepare renewable ethanol and butanols. Ethanol can beproduced by microorganisms known in the art such as Saccharomycescerevisiae. Butanols can be produced, for example, by the microorganismsdescribed in U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2007/0092957, 2008/0138870,2008/0182308, 2007/0259410, 2007/0292927, 2007/0259411, 2008/0124774,2008/0261230, 2009/0226991, 2009/0226990, 2009/0171129, 2009/0215137,2009/0155869, 2009/0155869, 2008/02745425, etc. Additionally, butanolsand other higher alcohols are produced by yeasts during the fermentationof sugars into ethanol. These fusel alcohols are known in the art ofindustrial fermentations for the production of beer and wine and havebeen studied extensively for their effect on the taste and stability ofthese products. Recently, production of fusel alcohols using engineeredmicroorganisms has been reported (U.S. Patent Application No.2007/0092957, and Nature 2008 (451) 86-89).

Renewable ethanol and renewable isobutanol prepared by fermentation are,in most embodiments, produced in fermentors and/or under conditionsoptimal for fermentation of the respective alcohol. That is, renewableethanol is produced in one or more fermentors optimized for productionof ethanol and operated under conditions optimized for the production ofethanol (e.g., using microorganisms which produce high yields ofethanol, a fermentable feedstock with suitable nutrients optimal forethanol-producing microorganisms, temperature conditions and ethanolrecovery unit operations optimized for ethanol production, etc.).Likewise, renewable isobutanol is produced in one or more fermentorsunder conditions optimized for the production of isobutanol (e.g., usingmicroorganisms which produce high yields of isobutanol, a fermentablefeedstock with suitable nutrients optimal for isobutanol-producingmicroorganisms, temperature conditions and isobutanol recovery unitoperations optimized for isobutanol production, etc.). In particularembodiments, ethanol is produced in a conventional ethanol fermentationplant and isobutanol is produced in an ethanol fermentation plantretrofitted for the production of isobutanol, for example as describedin US 2009/0171129.

In one embodiment, the retrofitted ethanol plant includes an optionalpretreatment unit, multiple fermentation units, and a beer still toproduce isobutanol. The isobutanol is produced by optionally pretreatinga feedstock (e.g., ground corn) to form fermentable sugars in thepretreatment unit. A suitable microorganism, as described herein, iscultured in a fermentation medium comprising the fermentable sugars inone or more of the fermentation units to produce isobutanol. Theisobutanol can be recovered from the fermentation medium as describedherein, and as described in US 2009/0171129.

Renewable ethanol and butanols can also be prepared using various othermethods such as conversion of biomass by thermochemical methods, forexample by gasification of biomass to synthesis gas followed bycatalytic conversion of the synthesis gas to alcohols in the presence ofa catalyst containing elements such as copper, aluminum, chromium,manganese, iron, cobalt, or other metals and alkali metals such aslithium, sodium, and/or potassium (Energy and Fuels 2008 (22) 814-839).The various alcohols, including ethanol and butanols can be separatedfrom the mixture by distillation and used to prepare renewable ethyleneor renewable butenes, or compounds derived from renewable ethyleneand/or butenes as described herein. Alcohols other than ethanol andisobutanol can be recovered and utilized as feedstocks for otherprocesses, burned as fuel or used as a fuel additive, etc.

Alternatively, renewable ethanol and butanols can be preparedphotosynthetically, e.g., using cyanobacteria or algae engineered toproduce isobutanol, isopentanol, and/or other alcohols (e.g.,Synechococcus elongatus PCC7942 and Synechocystis PCC6803; see Angermayret al., Energy Biotechnology with Cyanobacteria, Curr Opin Biotech 2009(20) 257-263; Atsumi and Liao, Nature Biotechnology 2009 (27) 1177-1182;and Dexter et al., Energy Environ. Sci. 2009 (2), 857-864, andreferences cited in each of these references). When producedphotosynthetically, the “feedstock” for producing the resultingrenewable alcohols is light, water and CO₂ provided to thephotosynthetic organism (e.g., cyanobacteria or algae).

Higher alcohols other than butanols or pentanols produced duringfermentation (or other processes as described herein for preparingrenewable ethanol and butanols) may be removed from the ethanol orbutanol prior to carrying out subsequent unit operations (e.g.,dehydration). The separation of these higher alcohols from thebutanol(s) (e.g. isobutanol) or pentanol(s) (e.g. 1-pentanol,2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, branched or cyclic pentanols, etc.) can beeffected using known methods such as distillation, extraction, etc.Alternatively, these higher alcohols can remain mixed in the butanol(s)or pentanol(s), and can be removed after subsequent processing. Forexample, any higher alcohols mixed in with isobutanol can be dehydratedwith the isobutanol stream to the corresponding olefins, then separatedfrom the mixed butenes. The determination of whether to remove suchhigher alcohols prior to dehydration, or to remove the correspondingolefin after dehydration (or the corresponding dehydrogenationbyproducts/co-products) generally depends on the relative ease and costof the respective separations and the relative value of thebyproducts/co-products. In some cases, the amounts of such by-productsmay be low enough that removal is uneconomic and a product olefin streammay be used directly with such minor impurities if a subsequent productis tolerant to such impurities. For example, subsequent thepolymerization of a product mixed butene stream (and the specificationof a product polymer produced thereby) may be such that minor amountsof, e.g., pentenes or other olefins, may be acceptable, and separationof those minor components may be unnecessary. Alternatively, in certaincases, higher alcohols such as pentanols (e.g., 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol,3-pentanol, branched or cyclic pentanols, etc.) may be produced insufficient quantities for use in the present integrated processes. Forexample, higher alcohols, e.g., linear pentanols in sufficient amountsand subject to subsequent reaction/processing to provide an additionalfeedstock (e.g., pentenes, pentadienes, etc.) for the present integratedprocesses. Other higher alcohols may similarly produced, separated,processed, reacted, etc. as desired.

Isolation of Alcohols from Fermentation

When the renewable ethanol and isobutanol are prepared by fermentation,the ethanol can be removed from the fermentor by methods known in theart, for example steam stripping, distillation, pervaporation, etc.(see, e.g., Perry & Chilton, CHEMICAL ENGINEER'S HANDBOOK, 4^(th) Ed.).

Isobutanol can also be removed from the fermentor by various methods,for example fractional distillation, solvent extraction (e.g., with arenewable solvent such as renewable oligomerized hydrocarbons, renewablehydrogenated hydrocarbons, renewable aromatic hydrocarbons, etc.prepared as described herein), gas stripping, adsorption, pervaporation,etc., or by combinations of such methods, prior to dehydration. Incertain embodiments, ethanol and butanol are removed from the fermentorin the vapor phase under reduced pressure (e.g., as an azeotrope withwater as described in U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2009/0171129). In somesuch embodiments, the fermentor itself is operated under reducedpressure without the application of additional heat (other than thatused to provide optimal fermentation conditions for the microorganism)and without the use of distillation equipment, and the producedisobutanol is removed as an aqueous vapor (or azeotrope) from thefermentor. In other such embodiments, the fermentor is operated underapproximately atmospheric pressure or slightly elevated pressure (e.g.,due to the evolution of gases such as CO₂ during fermentation) and aportion of the feedstock containing the isobutanol is continuouslyrecycled through a flash tank operated under reduced pressure, wherebythe isobutanol is removed from the headspace of the flash tank as anaqueous vapor or water azeotrope. These latter embodiments have theadvantage of providing for separation of the isobutanol without the useof energy intensive or equipment intensive unit operations (e.g.,distillation), as well as continuously removing a metabolic by-productof the fermentation, thereby improving the productivity of thefermentation process. The resulting wet isobutanol can be dried and thendehydrated, or dehydrated wet (as described herein), then subsequentlydried.

The production of renewable isobutanol by fermentation of carbohydratestypically co-produces small (<5% w/w) amounts of 3-methyl-1-butanol and2-methyl-1-butanol and much lower levels of other fusel alcohols. Onemechanism by which these by-products form is the use of intermediates inhydrophobic amino acid biosynthesis by the isobutanol-producingmetabolic pathway that is engineered into the host microorganism. Thegenes involved with the production of intermediates that are convertedto 3-methyl-1-butanol and 2-methyl-1-butanol are known and can bemanipulated to control the amount of 3-methyl-1-butanol produced inthese fermentations (see, e.g., Connor and Liao, Appl Environ Microbial2008 (74) 5769). Removal of these genes can decrease 3-methyl-1-butanoland/or 2-methyl-1-butanol production to negligible amounts, whileoverexpression of these genes can be tuned to produce any amount of3-methyl-1-butanol in a typical fermentation. Alternatively, thethermochemical conversion of biomass to mixed alcohols produces bothisobutanol and these pentanols. Accordingly, when biomass is convertedthermochemically, the relative amounts of these alcohols can be adjustedusing specific catalysts and/or reaction conditions (e.g., temperature,pressure, etc.).

Dehydration to Ethylene and Butenes

Renewable ethanol and butanols obtained by biochemical or thermochemicalproduction routes as described herein can be converted into theircorresponding olefins by reacting the alcohols over a dehydrationcatalyst under appropriate conditions (see e.g., FIG. 1). Typicaldehydration catalysts that convert alcohols such as ethanol andisobutanol into ethylene and butene(s) include various acid treated anduntreated alumina (e.g., γ-alumina) and silica catalysts and claysincluding zeolites (e.g., β-type zeolites, ZSM-5 or Y-type zeolites,fluoride-treated β-zeolite catalysts, fluoride-treated clay catalysts,etc.), sulfonic acid resins (e.g., sulfonated styrenic resins such asAmberlyst® 15), strong acids such as phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid,Lewis acids such boron trifluoride and aluminum trichloride, and manydifferent types of metal salts including metal oxides (e.g., zirconiumoxide or titanium dioxide) and metal chlorides (e.g., Latshaw B E,Dehydration of isobutanol to Isobutylene in a Slurry Reactor, Departmentof Energy Topical Report, February 1994).

Dehydration reactions can be carried out in both gas and liquid phaseswith both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalyst systems in manydifferent reactor configurations (see, e.g., FIG. 2). Typically, thecatalysts used are stable to the water that is generated by thereaction. The water is usually removed from the reaction zone with theproduct. The resulting alkene(s) either exit the reactor in the gas orliquid phase, depending upon the reactor conditions, and may separatedand/or purified downstream or further converted in the reactor to othercompounds (e.g., isomers, dimers, trimers, etc.) as described herein.The water generated by the dehydration reaction may exit the reactorwith unreacted alcohol and alkene product(s) and may be separated bydistillation or phase separation. Because water is generated in largequantities in the dehydration step, the dehydration catalysts used aregenerally tolerant to water and a process for removing the water fromsubstrate and product may be part of any process that contains adehydration step. For this reason, it is possible to use wet (e.g., upto about 95% or 98%, water by weight) alcohol as a substrate for adehydration reaction, then remove water introduced with alcohol in thereactor feed stream with the water generated by the dehydration reactionduring or after the dehydration reaction (e.g., using a zeolite catalystsuch as those described U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,698,452 and 4,873,392).Additionally, neutral alumina and zeolites can dehydrate alcohols toalkenes but generally at higher temperatures and pressures than theacidic versions of these catalysts. In certain embodiments, thealkene(s) produced in the dehydration reaction are isolated after thedehydration step, before being used as feedstocks for subsequent processsteps (e.g., oligomerization, dehydrogenation, disproportionation,etc.). Depending on the particular configuration of the process,isolation of the alkenes after formation in the dehydration reactor canoffer certain advantages, for example when the dehydration is carriedout in the gas phase, while subsequent process steps are carried out inthe liquid phase. However, in certain other embodiments of the processof the present invention, the alkenes can be used directly from theproduct stream of the dehydration reactor, without isolation (e.g., whenthe dehydration and the subsequent process steps are carried out undersimilar temperature and pressure conditions and/or when such subsequentsteps are relatively insensitive to water).

Renewable ethylene may be produced directly by the dehydration ofrenewable ethanol. However, when 1-butanol, 2-butanol, or isobutanol aredehydrated, a mixture of four C₄ olefins—1-butene, cis-2-butene,trans-2-butene, and isobutene—can be formed. The exact concentration ina product stream of each butene isomer is determined by thethermodynamics of formation of each isomer. Accordingly, the reactionconditions and catalysts used can be manipulated to affect thedistribution of butene isomers in the product stream. Thus, one canobtain butene mixtures enriched in a particular isomer. However,production of a single butene isomer by dehydration is generallydifficult. For example, dehydration of isobutanol at 280° C. over aγ-alumina catalyst can be optimized to produce up to 97% isobutenedespite an expected equilibrium concentration of ˜57% at thattemperature (see FIG. 3). However, there is currently no known methodfor cleanly dehydrating isobutanol to 99+% isobutene (Saad L and Riad M,J Serbian Chem Soc 2008 (73) 997).

The dehydration conditions for isobutanol can be varied in the processof the present invention to provide different butene isomer compositionssuitable for producing a desired product mixture. For example, if it isdesirable to increase the level of propylene produced by the presentprocess (e.g., by disproportionation of ethylene and 2-butene, asdescribed herein), isobutanol dehydration reaction conditions can beadjusted (e.g., reactor temperature, pressure, residence time, catalystidentity, etc.) to increase the relative amounts of 2-butene in thedehydration product stream.

Alternatively, the dehydration reaction can be combined in various wayswith an isomerization reaction (using suitable catalysts and conditionsas described herein) to effectively achieve a desired butene isomerdistribution. For example, if increased amounts of 2-butene are desired,the 1-butene and isobutene isomers can be recycled one or more times atvarious stages in the process (e.g., after dehydration of isobutanol,and/or after any other unit operations utilizing a feedstock containing1-butene or isobutene) to an isomerization reaction to produceadditional 2-butene, thereby effectively increasing the amount of2-butene produced.

Propylene by Metathesis

Propylene is conventionally produced by cracking higher hydrocarbons,and as a byproduct in other processes in petroleum refineries. Renewablepropylene could be produced by dehydration of renewable propanols suchas isopropanol or n-propanol (e.g. derived from renewable acetoneprovided by so-called “ABE” fermentation processes, or from propanolproduced from biomass by thermochemical processes), but such “ABE”processes are generally relatively inefficient, and the resultingrenewable propanol is accordingly not cost competitive withpetrochemically derived propanol (e.g., produced by hydroformylation ofpetroleum derived ethylene). However, renewable propylene can be moreefficiently produced by the disproportionation of renewable ethylene andrenewable 2-butene. As described herein, ethylene can be readilyprepared by dehydration of ethanol, and 2-butene can be prepared by thedehydration of isobutanol under suitable conditions, and/or by theisomerization of renewable isobutene or 1-butene produced by thedehydration of isobutanol.

The specific unit operations employed in the preparation of renewablepropylene will depend on the nature of the starting materials anddesired ultimate products. For example, renewable propylene can beprepared by separately dehydrating ethanol and butanol, followed bydisproportionation of at least a portion of the ethylene and butene(s)produced as described herein (e.g., the remaining portion of theethylene and butene(s) used in other unit operations), or by thedehydration of mixtures of isobutanol and ethanol to a mixture ofethylene and butylenes, at least a portion of which is thendisproportionated in the presence of the appropriate metathesis catalystto provide propylene. Since dehydration of isobutanol typically producesa mixture of butene isomers, and optimal conditions for dehydratingisobutanol and ethanol are typically somewhat different, in variousembodiments the dehydration of isobutanol and ethanol are carried outseparately (e.g., in separate dehydration reactors, or at differenttimes in the same dehydration reactor). In particular embodiments, thedehydration of isobutanol and ethanol are carried out in one or moreseparate isobutanol dehydration reactors and one or more separateethanol dehydration reactors, and the resulting ethylene and 2-buteneare then reacted in one or more metathesis reactors in the presence ofan appropriate metathesis catalyst.

Depending upon the specific mixture of butenes formed after dehydrationof isobutanol, and the value of particular intermediates or products, aportion of the various butenes can be subjected to various additionalunit operations. For example, a portion of the unreacted isobutene canbe isomerized to linear butenes (1- and 2-butenes) and the linearbutenes (particularly 2-butenes) can be recycled hack to thedisproportionation step, or the isobutene can be converted to, e.g.,tert-butyl ethers or tert-butanol by reaction with alcohols or water,oligomerized and hydrogenated to higher alkanes/alkenes suitable for usein fuels (e.g., isooctane/isooctene), dehydrocyclized to aromatics(e.g., xylenes such as o-xylene, p-xylene or m-xylene), etc. Theisomerization of isobutene can be carried out in a separateisomerization step (e.g., in a separate isomerization reactor), or canoccur in-situ during the disproportionation reaction by appropriateselection of catalyst in the metathesis reactor.

In some embodiments, renewable propylene is prepared using a methodsimilar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,214,841, in which renewablebutenes (e.g., a mixture comprising 1-butene, 2-butenes, and/orisobutene) and renewable ethylene, prepared as described herein, arereacted in the presence of a metathesis catalyst. Since isobutene mayalso react with renewable 1- or 2-butenes in the presence of ametathesis catalyst (producing, e.g., mixed pentenes and hexenes), invarious embodiments isobutene is removed from the butene mixture priorto the metathesis step to minimize formation of pentenes and hexenes.However, pentenes and hexenes are easily separated from ethylene andpropylene, and can be used as chemical intermediates for further unitoperations in the process of the present invention, or as fuel blendstocks, etc. Accordingly, in some embodiments the isobutene is notremoved from the metathesis reaction feedstock, and the resultingpentenes and hexenes are subsequently removed and utilized as describedherein, while ethylene can be recycled to the metathesis reaction asfeedstock (and the propylene can be recovered). Any isobutene remainingin the metathesis product mixture can be removed and recycled to aseparate rearrangement step (e.g., to produce linear butenes) ordiverted to other processes (e.g., oligomerization, oxidation, etc. toproduce biofuels, acrylates, aromatics, etc.) as described herein.

In various embodiments, renewable propylene is formed by reacting anapproximately 1.3:1 molar mixture of renewable ethylene and renewable2-butene in a metathesis reactor in the presence of a suitablemetathesis catalyst as described herein. The approximately 1.3:1 molarmixture of renewable ethylene and renewable 2-butene can be formed bymixing a suitable portion of the renewable ethylene formed bydehydration of renewable ethanol and a portion of the renewable 2-buteneisolated from the mixture of butene isomers formed by dehydration ofrenewable isobutanol. The renewable 2-butene can be obtained byseparation from the mixture of butene isomers formed after dehydrationof isobutanol, using suitable methods such as fractional distillation,absorption, etc. In other embodiments, the molar ratio of renewableethylene and renewable 2-butene can be adjusted depending on thecomposition of the metathesis feedstock stream(s) and/or the metathesisreaction conditions (e.g., temperature, pressure, residence time, etc.)to maximize production of a desired metathesis product (e.g., propylene)or to adjust the composition of the product stream for subsequent unitoperations. For example, when the feedstock comprises a mixture ofpropylene, isobutene, and linear butenes, it may be desirable toincrease the molar ratio of 2-butenes in the feedstock to compensate forside-reactions which can reduce the amount of 2-butenes available forreaction with ethylene (e.g., to maximize propylene production).Alternatively, if metathesis conditions (e.g., addition of anisomerization catalyst such as magnesium oxide) are selected whichpromote isomerization of 1-butenes and/or isobutene to 2-butenes in themetathesis reactor, the feedstock can comprise lower levels of2-butenes, so that optimal levels of 2-butenes are provided by 2-buteneinitially present in the feedstock and 2-butenes produced in-situ in themetathesis reaction by isomerization of isobutene and/or 1-butene.

In still other embodiments, the mixed butenes can be oligomerized overan acidic ion exchange resin under conditions which selectively convertisobutene to isooctene (e.g., using the methods of Kamath et al., IndEngr Chem Res 2006 (45) 1575-1582), but leave the linear butenessubstantially unreacted, thereby providing a substantiallyisobutene-free mixture of linear butenes (e.g., containing less thanabout 10%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1% of isobutene, or any other value or rangeof values therein or therebelow). After separation of isooctene from themixed linear butenes, the substantially isobutene-free renewable linearbutenes can then be combined with renewable ethylene and reacted in thepresence of a metathesis catalyst to form renewable propylene.

The disproportionation/metathesis of ethylene and linear butenes (e.g.,1- and/or 2-butene) can be carried out in the presence of one or moresuitable metathesis catalysts, optionally including one or morecomponents which may catalyze the rearrangement of isobutene to linearbutenes (particularly 2-butenes) as described herein. A non-limitinglist of suitable metathesis catalysts include, for example, oxides,hydroxides, or sulfides of metals such as tungsten, molybdenum, rhenium,niobium, tantalum, vanadium, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, iron,potassium, chromium, and osmium. These metal oxides/hydroxides/sulfidescan be supported on a high surface-area (e.g., 10 m²/g or more)inorganic carrier known in the catalyst art, such as silica, alumina,titania, etc. The metathesis catalyst can also contain a promotercompound to increase catalyst activity and/or specificity, such aslithium, sodium, potassium, cesium, magnesium, calcium, strontium,barium, zinc, yttrium compounds (e.g., elemental forms as well asoxides, hydroxides, nitrates, acetates, etc., as described in Banks R Land Kukes S G, J Molec Cat 1985 (28) 117-1311; U.S. Pat. Pub. No.2008/0312485; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,575,575, and 4,754,098), or aninorganic compound containing a promoter, such as hydrotalcite, or inparticular embodiments, tungsten oxide on silica and magnesium oxide(e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,214,841). In other embodiments,the renewable linear butenes (produced as described herein by thedehydration of renewable isobutanol) are reacted with renewable ethylenein the presence of a catalyst comprising rhenium oxide on alumina.

Suitable metathesis reaction conditions include those described in U.S.Pat. No. 3,261,879: temperatures ranging from about 250° F. to about550° F., pressures ranging from about 0-1500 psig, WHSV values rangingfrom about 0.5 to 20 hr⁻¹, a minimum 30% molar excess ethylene (e.g.,moles ethylene at least about 1.3 times moles butenes). Alternatively,suitable metathesis conditions include those described in U.S. Pat.Appl. Pub. No. 2008/0312485: a catalyst comprising a mixture of tungstenoxide on silica and hydrotalcite, reaction temperature of about 200° C.,and a reaction pressure of about 3.5 MPa.

In most embodiments, the renewable butenes and ethylene in themetathesis feedstock are purified to remove impurities which may“poison” the metathesis catalyst. For example, purification may includeremoving water; oxygenates such as carbon dioxide, alcohols, aldehydes,acids, etc.; nitrogen or nitrogen-containing compounds;sulfur-containing compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, ethyl sulfide,diethyl sulfide, methyl ethylsulfide; alkynes such as acetylene andmethylacetylene; dienes such as butadiene, etc. In some embodiments,purification may include removing isobutene (as described herein). Invarious embodiments, the levels of such impurities in the metathesisfeedstock are maintained below about 10 ppm, in most embodiments lessthan 1 ppm. Purification can be carried out using conventional methods,for example the methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,261,875 and7,214,841, or U.S. Pat. Appl. Pub. No. 2008/0312485, in which themetathesis feedstock is passed over an absorbent bed comprising alumina,zeolites, magnesium and other metal oxides. In most embodiments, a“poisoned” metathesis catalyst can be regenerated in air at about >1000°F. In particular embodiments the metathesis catalyst is periodicallyregenerated by heating the catalyst in the presence of oxygen (e.g.,air) as described herein. For example, the process of the presentinvention can employ two or more metathesis reactors such that at leastone of the metathesis reactors can be regenerated while the othermetathesis reactors are in operation, thereby permitting continuousoperation of the process.

Isobutene and Linear Butenes

As described herein, the dehydration of isobutanol typically provides amixture of butene isomers, including isobutene and linear butenes.Depending upon the dehydration conditions used, the mixture of butenesin an isobutanol dehydration product stream can contain varying amountsof isobutene. For example, if the dehydration is carried out at lowertemperatures, typically a higher percentage of the butene product streamcomprises isobutene (see FIG. 3). Accordingly, if higher levels ofisobutene production are desirable (e.g., for the production ofpolyisobutylene, butyl rubber, other butene copolymers, xylenes, etc.),the process conditions of the isobutanol dehydration can be adjusted toincrease the percentage of isobutene produced in the isobutanoldehydration product stream. The remaining linear butenes can beisomerized (e.g., in a separate isomerization reactor) to formadditional isobutene, which can then be combined with the isobuteneproduced from dehydration, or diverted to other processes, e.g.,oligomerization, dehydrogenation, dehydrocyclization, isomerized tolinear butenes for disproportionation with ethylene to form propylene,etc.

Alternatively, if higher levels of linear butenes are desirable (e.g.,for disproportionation with ethylene to form propylene, dehydrogenationto form butadiene, etc.), the isobutanol dehydration process conditionscan be adjusted to increase the proportion of linear butenes formed(e.g., by increasing the dehydration process temperature), and theisobutene can be separated from the isobutanol dehydration productstream and isomerized (e.g., in a separate isomerization reactor) toform additional linear butenes, which can be combined with the initiallyformed linear butenes. Alternatively, if the desired product isbutadiene, the mixture of linear butenes and isobutene can bedehydrogenated to form a mixture of isobutene and butadiene. Sinceisobutene is substantially unreactive to dehydrogenation conditions forforming butadiene from linear butenes, the isobutene remains unreactedin the product stream, and can be readily separated from the butadiene.The unreacted isobutene can then be recycled and isomerized to formadditional linear butenes, or diverted to other process steps.

Butadiene

Di-olefins (dienes) such as butadiene are conventionally produced inpetrochemical refineries by the cracking reactions that generateC₄₋containing olefin streams for petrochemical use. If additionaldi-olefins are required, they can be produced by dehydrogenation of theC₄ mono-olefins. For example, butadiene may be produced by passingraffinate-2 over a dehydrogenation catalyst.

Dehydrogenation catalysts convert saturated carbon-carbon bonds inorganic molecules into unsaturated double bonds (see FIG. 4). Typicaldehydrogenation catalysts include mixtures of metal oxides with varyingdegrees of selectivity towards specific olefins. For example, in certainoxidative dehydrogenations, iron-zinc oxide mixtures favor 1-butenedehydrogenation while cobalt-iron-bismuth-molybdenum oxide mixturesfavor 2-butene dehydrogenation (see, e.g., Jung et al., CatalysisLetters 2008 (123), 239). Other examples of dehydrogenation catalystsinclude vanadium- and chrome-containing catalysts (see, e.g.,Toledo-Antonio et al., Applied Catalysis A 2002 (234) 137), ferrite-typecatalysts (see, e.g., Lopez Nieto et al., J Catalysis 2000 (189) 147),manganese-oxide doped molecular sieves (see, e.g., Krishnan V V and SuibS L, J Catalysis 1999 (184) 305), copper-molybdenum catalysts (see,e.g., Tiwari et al., J Catalysis 1989 (120) 278), andbismuth-molybdenum-based catalysts (see, e.g., Batist et al., JCatalysis 1966 (5) 55).

Dehydrogenation of an olefin to a di- or polyolefin can occur if theolefin molecule can accommodate one or more additional double bonds. Forexample, 1-butene can be dehydrogenated to butadiene (see FIG. 5).Dehydrogenation catalysts are also capable of rearranging olefinic bondsin a molecule to accommodate a second olefin bond, generally whenskeletal rearrangement is not required (e.g., rearrangement by one ormore hydrogen shifts), but these catalysts typically do not catalyzeskeletal rearrangements (e.g., breaking and refbrming C—C bonds) underdehydrogenating conditions. For example, 2-butene can be dehydrogenatedto butadiene but isobutene is not typically dehydrogenated to butadienein the same process unless the reaction conditions/catalysts areselected to both promote skeletal rearrangement and dehydrogenation.Alternatively, one or more process units may be employed, wherein astream comprising isobutene may be subject to isomerization conditionsto promote the formation of linear butenes (e.g., as described herein)to effect skeletal rearrangement, then subsequently subject todehydrogenation conditions to maximize production of butadiene form amixed butene stream.

Two major types of dehydrogenation reactions are conventionally used toproduce olefins from saturated materials (see, e.g., Buyanov R A,Kinetics and Catalysis 2001 (42) 64). A first type, endothermicdehydrogenation, typically uses a dehydrogenation catalyst (e.g.,chromia-alumina-based, spinel supported platinum-based, phosphate-based,and iron oxide-based catalysts), high heat (typically 480-700° C.), anda reactor configuration (typically fixed-bed and fluidized-bed reactors)that favors the formation of hydrogen gas to drive the reaction forward,and also employs dilution of the feedstock with gases such as helium,nitrogen, or steam to lower the partial pressure of any hydrogen that isformed in the reaction. Alternatively, the reaction may be conductedunder reduced pressure (e.g., from 0.1 to 0.7 atm) to effect reductionof the partial pressure of hydrogen in the reaction, promoting theformation of products. In a second type of hydrogenation, exothermicdehydrogenation, the catalysts typically function in the absence ofoxygen, minimizing the formation of oxidized products (e.g.,methacrolein and methacrylate, when the feedstock comprises butenes).Oxidative dehydrogenation typically employs mixed metal oxide-baseddehydrogenation catalysts (typically containing molybdenum, vanadium, orchromium), lower temperatures (300-500° C.), and a fixed- orfluidized-bed reactor configuration. The process may include theaddition of oxygen to the reaction to drive the reaction. Introducedoxygen reacts with produced hydrogen to form water, thus reducing thepartial pressure of hydrogen in the reactor and favoring the formationof additional products. Both types of dehydrogenation reactions areapplicable to the invention described herein. In some embodimentswherein hydrogen production is desired, endothermic dehydrogenation maybe used and reactions conditions may be optimized to maximize hydrogencapture (e.g., for subsequent use in hydrogenation reactions or unitoperation as described herein).

The selectivity of dehydrogenation catalysts towards olefins that canaccommodate a second olefinic bond can be used to prepare dienes (e.g.,butadiene), or alternatively used as a method of purifying the olefinmixture (e.g. by facilitating separation of a diene from unreactivemono-olefins). For example, as described herein, the dehydration ofisobutanol typically produces isobutene and both 1- and 2-butenes.Treatment of this product mixture with a dehydrogenation catalystselectively converts the 1- and 2-butenes—but not isobutene—tobutadiene. It is possible that some skeletal rearrangement of theisobutene occurs during the dehydrogenation reaction, but thisrearranged material generally is dehydrogenated to form butadiene. Aftercomplete dehydrogenation (which may require recycling unreacted butenesback to the dehydrogenation feedstock), the butadiene and unreactedisobutene can be readily separated by extractive distillation of thebutadiene, to produce high purity (about 80-100%, e.g., >about80%, >about 85%, >about 90%, >about 95%, >about 98%, >about 99%,or >about 99.8%) isobutene and butadiene streams suitable e.g. for useas a monomer feedstock for polymerization.

Renewable linear butenes are readily dehydrogenated to renewablebutadiene. Accordingly, in the process of the present invention, aportion of the linear butenes produced by dehydration of renewableisobutene can be dehydrogenated to 1,3-butadiene. Under typical linearbutene dehydrogenation conditions, isobutene is relatively inert.Accordingly, in various embodiments of the process, butadiene can beproduced by dehydrogenation of mixtures of butenes containing bothlinear butenes and isobutene. In some embodiments, it may be desirableto remove isobutene from the dehydration product/dehydrogenationfeedstock prior to the dehydration reaction (e.g., such that thedehydration feedstock contains essentially only linear butenes). When amixture of linear butenes and isobutene is dehydrogenated, thedehydrogenation product stream comprises butadiene, unreacted isobutene,and optionally unreacted linear butenes (e.g., produced under lowconversion conditions). In some embodiments, at least a portion of theunreacted linear butenes can be recycled back to the dehydrogenationreactor to further convert linear butenes to butadiene (therebyincreasing the overall yield of butadiene), and/or a portion of theunreacted linear butenes can be reacted with at least a portion of theethylene to form propylene (as described herein). The unreactedisobutene can be separated from butadiene, and at least a portion of theunreacted isobutene can be recycled to a separate isomerization step(e.g., producing linear butenes as shown in FIG. 6) or portions of theunreacted isobutene can be diverted to other processes (e.g.,oligomerization, oxidation, etc. to produce biofuels, acrylates,aromatics, etc.) as described herein. If the unreacted isobutene isisomerized to linear butenes, at least a portion of these linear butenescan be recycled back to a dehydrogenation step to produce additionalbutadiene, or alternatively diverted to other processes such asdisproportionation with ethylene to produce additional propylene,alkylation of aromatics, etc.

In still other embodiments, the mixed butenes can be oligomerized overan acidic ion exchange resin under conditions which selectively convertisobutene to isooctene (e.g. using the methods of Kamath R S et al,Industrial Engineering and Chemistry Research 2006, 45, 1575-1582), butleave the linear butenes essentially unreacted, thereby providing asubstantially isobutene-free mixture of linear butenes (containing e.g.,less than about 1% isobutene, or less than about 0.9%, less than about0.8%, less than about 0.7%, less than about 0.6%, less than about 0.5%,less than about 0.4%, less than about 0.3%, less than about 0.2%, orless than about 0.1%, including ranges and subranges thereof). Some orall of the essentially isobutene-free renewable linear butenes can thenbe reacted in the presence of a dehydrogenation catalyst to formrenewable butadiene. In still other embodiments, isobutene can beremoved from a mixed butene stream by, e.g., selective oxidation ofisobutene in the mixed stream to form, e.g., tert-butanol and/or methyltert-butyl ether.

In another embodiment, the amount of 1- and 2-butenes produced in thedehydration of isobutanol can be increased up to the equilibrium amountaccessible at the reaction temperature (see, e.g., FIG. 3). For example,in some embodiments, dehydration catalysts are selected such that at350° C., the dehydration of isobutanol produces a mixture comprisingabout 50% isobutene and about 50% of 1- and 2-butenes. At least aportion of the resulting mixture can be treated with a dehydrogenationcatalyst to produce butadiene from isobutanol at up to about 50% yield.

In various embodiments the isobutene can be removed from the mixture oflinear butenes prior to dehydrogenation, or alternatively, if thedehydrogenation conditions and catalyst are selected to minimize anyundesired side reactions of the isobutene, the isobutene can removedfrom the product stream after the dehydrogenation reaction step. Inother embodiments, a portion or all of the isobutene can be diverted toform other valuable hydrocarbons (e.g., oligomerized to formisooctenes/isooctanes for biofuels, dehydrocyclized to form aromaticsfor fuels, phthalates, etc.). The isobutene can also be rearranged tolinear butenes (1- and 2-butenes), which can then be recycled back tothe dehydrogenation reaction step to form additional butadiene, therebyincreasing the effective yield of butadiene to above 50% relative tofeed isobutanol. If all of the isobutene is recycled, the effectiveyield of butadiene in various processes of the present invention canapproach about 100%. However, as some cracking and “coking” may occurduring the dehydrogenation, butadiene yields for the process of thepresent invention can be about 90% or more (e.g., about 95% or more, orabout 98% or more, or any other value or range of values therein orthereabove). The rearrangement of isobutene can be carried out in aseparate isomerization step (e.g., in a separate isomerization reactor)after removing the butadiene from the dehydrogenation product, or can becarried out in-situ during the dehydrogenation reaction by appropriateselection of catalyst (or by use of a suitable catalyst mixture) in thedehydrogenation reactor. For example, dehydration catalysts can beselected which also catalyze rearrangement of isobutene to linearisobutanes, or the dehydration catalyst can be mixed with anisomerization catalyst. A few representative acid catalysts suitable forrearranging isobutene include zeolites such as CBV-3020, ZSM-5, βZeolite CP 814C, ZSM-5 CBV 8014, ZSM-5 CBV 5524 G, and YCBV 870;fluorinated alumina; acid-treated silica; acid-treated silica-alumina;acid-treated titania; acid-treated zirconia; heteropolyacids supportedon zirconia, titania, alumina, silica; and combinations thereof.

In particular embodiments, the isobutene is substantially removed fromthe product stream after the dehydration reaction step in order toprovide a feed stream for the dehydrogenation reaction step which issubstantially free of isobutene (e.g., the butene component of thedehydrogenation feed stream comprises substantially only linearbutenes). By “substantially removed” we mean that isobutene has beenremoved from the indicated feed or product stream such that afterremoval, the isobutene in the feed or product stream comprises less thanabout 5% (e.g., less than about 4%, less than about 3%, less than about2%, or less than about 1%, or any other value or range of values thereinor therebelow) of the butenes in the indicated feed or product stream.By “substantially only” in reference to the composition of thedehydrogenation feed stream, we mean that the linear butenes comprise atleast about 95% (e.g., at least about 96%, at least about 97%, at leastabout 98%, at least about 99%, or any other value or range of valuestherein or thereabove) of the butenes in the dehydrogenation feedstream.

In one embodiment, renewable butadiene may be prepared from renewableisobutanol produced by fermentation as described herein. The isobutanolthus produced is then dehydrated under conditions (as described herein)to maximize the yield of linear butenes (e.g., heterogeneous acidiccatalysts such as γ-alumina at about 350° C.). The resulting mixture of˜1:1 linear butenes/isobutene is then contacted with a dehydrogenationcatalyst (e.g., chromium-oxide treated alumina, platinum- andtin-containing zeolites and alumina, cobalt- and molybdenum-containingalumina, etc. at about 450-600° C.) to form a mixture of butadiene andunreacted isobutene. In a specific embodiment, the dehydrocyclizationcatalyst is a commercial catalyst comprising chromium oxide on analumina support. The remaining isobutene can then be isomerized tolinear butenes as described herein, and recycled for dehydrogenation inorder to produce additional butadiene (thereby increasing the effectiveyield of butadiene), or used as a raw material for other processes ormaterials as described herein.

Higher Olefins

C₅ and higher molecular weight olefins can also be prepared by theprocess of the present invention from renewable isobutanol and/orrenewable ethanol by various methods, using a variety of differentreactions used individually or in combination. For example, renewablebutenes can be converted to renewable C₅ olefins by, for example byhydroformylation by reacting renewable butenes (e.g., renewableisobutene) with formaldehyde (which can be renewable formaldehyde, e.g.,prepared from methanol produced from biomass by thermochemicalprocesses) or CO and H₂, in the presence of an acidic catalyst (e.g.,via the Prins reaction, see FIG. 6). Renewable pentenes, hexenes andhigher molecular weight olefins and can also be prepared as co-productsfrom the metathesis of ethylene and butene mixtures as described herein(e.g., by the disproportionation of isobutene and 1-butene to formethylene and methylpentene(s), the disproportionation of 2 equivalentsof isobutene to form dimethylbutene(s), etc.). By varying the relativeamounts of ethylene and the various butene isomers fed to the metathesisreaction and the metathesis reaction conditions (e.g., temperature,pressure, catalyst, residence time, etc., the metathesis product streamcan be accordingly adjusted to provide desired amounts of ethylene,propylene, butenes, and C₅ and higher olefins. In particular, higherconcentrations of isobutene and/or 1-butene in the metathesis feedstockwould favor higher levels of C₅ and higher molecular weight olefins.

Renewable C₅ olefins (e.g., isopentene, 3-methyl-1-butene and2-methyl-2-butene, etc.) can then be converted to, e.g., isoprene usinga dehydrogenation catalyst, under conditions similar to those used toconvert butenes to butadiene as described above.

Alternatively, or in addition to the processes for preparing olefinsdescribed herein, higher molecular weight olefins can be prepared byoligomerization of lower molecular weight olefins. The term“oligomerization” or “oligomerizing” refer to processes in whichactivated olefins are combined with the assistance of a catalyst to formlarger molecules called oligomers. Oligomerization refers to thecombination of identical olefins with one another (e.g., ethylene,isobutene, propylene, pentenes, hexenes, etc.) as well as coupling ofdifferent alkenes (e.g., isobutene and propylene), or the combination ofan unsaturated oligomer with an olefin. For example, isobutene can beoligomerized by an acidic catalyst to form eight-carbon oligomers(dimers) such as isooctene (e.g., trimethylpent-1-enes andtrimethylpent-2-enes) and/or twelve-carbon oligomers (trimers) such as2,2,4,6,6-pentamethylhept-3-ene, 2,4,4,6,6-pentamethylhept-1-ene.Similarly, oligomers of other monomers can produce higher molecularweight oligomers. In other embodiments, controlled oligomerization ofpropylene can produce dimers (e.g., hexenes), trimers (e.g., nonenes),etc. Similarly, pentenes, hexenes, or other monomers may be combined ina controlled fashion to provide oligomers having a desired number ofcarbon atoms. Furthermore, mixed cross-coupling or oligomerization isalso possible. For example, propylene and butenes may be oligomerized toprovide, e.g., heptenes, decenes, etc.

Heterogeneous or homogenous oligomerization catalysts can be used in theprocess of the present invention (see, e.g., G. Busca, “Acid Catalystsin Industrial Hydrocarbon Chemistry” Chem Rev 2007 (107) 5366-5410. Ofthe many methods for oligomerizing alkenes, the most relevant processesfor the production of fuels and fine chemicals generally employ acidicsolid phase catalysts such as alumina and zeolites (see, e.g., U.S. Pat.Nos. 3,997,621; 4,663,406; 4,612,406; 4,864,068; and 5,962,604).

Various methods can be used for controlling the molecular weightdistribution of the resulting oligomers, including methods which formprimarily dimers including isooctene (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No.6,689,927), trimers (see, e.g., PCT Pat. Appl. Pub. No. WO 2007/091862),and tetramers and pentamers (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,321).Typical methods for controlling oligomer molecular weight include theaddition of alcohols such as t-butanol and diluents such as paraffins.Additionally, higher molecular weight oligomers and polymers can beformed using similar catalysts reacting under different conditions. Forexample, low molecular weight polyisobutylene (up to 20,000 Daltons) canbe produced using a boron trifluoride complex catalyst (see, e.g., U.S.Pat. No. 5,962,604).

If a mixture of different olefins produced in any of the processesdescribed herein is oligomerized, the resulting oligomer mixturecomprises the corresponding addition products formed by the addition oftwo or more olefins, which can be the same or different. For example ifa mixture of propene and butenes is oligomerized, the product cancomprise “binary” or “dimer” addition products such as hexenes,heptenes, octenes; “ternary” or “trimer” addition products such asnonenes, decenes, undecenes, dodecenes, etc.

The renewable unsaturated aliphatic compounds prepared byoligomerization in the process of the present invention generally have,on average, one carbon-carbon double bond per molecule. However, byselecting appropriate reaction conditions (e.g., catalyst identity,residence time, temperature, pressure, etc.), the oligomers formed canhave two or more carbon-carbon double bonds, e.g., viadehydrodimerization. On average, the product of the oligomerizing stepof the process of the present invention has less than about two doublebonds per molecule. In some embodiments, the product oligomer has lessthan about 1.5 double bonds per molecule. In most embodiments, theunsaturated aliphatic compounds (alkenes) have on average one doublebond. Any of the olefins produced by the process of the presentinvention can be converted to other compounds, for example hydrogenatedto form the corresponding saturated hydrocarbons, oxidized to thecorresponding alcohol, aldehyde, carboxylic acid, homologated withheteroatoms, etc. using methods known in the art for transformingcarbon-carbon double bonds to other functional groups.

The term “oligomerization” can also include reactions of olefins witharomatic hydrocarbons in the presence of an oligomerization catalyst(also termed “alkylation”). Catalysts specifically intended or optimizedfor the alkylation of aromatics are also termed alkylation or alkylatingcatalysts, and catalysts specifically intended or optimized foroligomerization of alkenes are termed oligomerization catalysts.Oligomerization and alkylation can, in some embodiments, be carried outsimultaneously in the presence of a single catalyst capable ofcatalyzing both reactions, or in other embodiments, can be carried outas separate reactions using separate oligomerization and alkylationcatalysts. For example, benzene can be reacted with isobutylene in thepresence of an oligomerization catalyst as described herein to formt-butylbenzene or di-t-butylbenzenes. Similarly, toluene can be reactedin the presence of an oligomerization catalyst and isobutylene to formt-butylmethylbenzenes, etc.

The alkylation of aromatics can be carried out using industriallyavailable catalysts such as mineral acids (e.g., phosphoric acid) andFriedel-Crafts catalysts (e.g., AlCl₃—HCl), for example, to alkylaterenewable benzene (prepared as described herein) with renewable ethyleneor renewable propylene to produce renewable ethyl benzene and cumene,respectively. Renewable ethyl benzene and cumene can then be used asstarting materials for the production of renewable phenol and renewablestyrene, e.g., using the methods described in Catalysis Review 2002,(44) 375. Alternatively, solid acid catalysts such as zeolite-basedcatalysts can be used to catalyze the direct alkylation of renewablebenzene with renewable propylene or ethylene.

For more highly reactive olefins (reactivity typically increases withincreasing length of the olefin chain) oligomerization of the olefin cancompete with alkylation of the aromatic, and thus in some embodiments,high aromatic to olefin ratios may be used to minimize formation ofolefin oligomers (where such oligomers are undesired) and favorproduction of alkylated aromatics. Renewable benzene, toluene and xylenecan be alkylated with renewable propylene or isobutylene to produceheavier aromatic compounds that are suitable for renewable jet fuel(see, e.g., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2008 (47) 1828).

Furthermore, since aromatic alkylation conditions are typically similarto oligomerization conditions, both steps can be performed in onereactor or one reaction zone by reacting a stream of renewable aromaticswith renewable alkenes in the presence of a suitable catalyst to providea mixture of olefin oligomers and alkyl aromatics suitable for use intransportation fuels (e.g., “Jet A” type fuel). Under excess olefinconditions (e.g., low aromatic/olefin ratios), both aromatic alkylationand oligomerization will take place. Alternatively, it is well knownthat alcohols can also act as alkylating agents under acid catalyticconditions. Accordingly, in other embodiments, aromatics can bealkylated with renewable ethanol or renewable isobutanol under excessalcohol conditions (e.g., dehydration of the alcohol and subsequentoligomerization occur in the presence of aromatics, resulting inalkylation of aromatics). In still other embodiments,oligomerization/aromatic alkylation with propylene or butenes and one ormore aromatics can be carried in the presence of an acid catalyst in onereaction zone or in one reactor having two or more reaction zones. Inparticular embodiments, ethanol or isobutanol can be used as alkylatingagents for aromatics in the presence of an acid catalyst in one reactionzone.

Aromatics

Renewable aromatic compounds can be produced from renewable alcohols andolefins, for example, using the methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,830,866, 3,830,866, and 6,600,081. In particular, renewable aromaticscan be readily produced from renewable olefins by dehydrocyclization.For example, renewable propylene dimers (C₆ olefins) produced asdescribed herein can dehydrocyclized to form renewable benzene.Similarly, renewable butene dimers produced as described herein can bedehydrocyclized to C₈ aromatics such as xylenes (particularly p-xyleneas described in U.S. Ser. No. 12/899,285) and ethylbenzene. Sinceolefins are more reactive than the primarily saturated alkanestraditionally used in petroleum refineries to produce aromatics, milderreaction conditions can be used in the processes of the presentinvention, resulting in improved selectivity for a desired singleproduct (e.g., p-xylene). Alkyl substituted aromatics can alternativelybe prepared by alkylation of unsubstituted or substituted aromatics(e.g., benzene or toluene) with low molecular weight olefins (e.g.,ethylene) using an appropriate alkylation catalyst.

In the present integrated process(es), the selectivity for p-xylene inan aromatic fraction relative to other aromatic products can be greaterthan about 90% (e.g., greater than about 95%, greater than about 98%, orany other value or range of values therein or thereabove), using, forexample, renewable isooctene as a starting material. The resultingproduct contains only negligible amounts of renewable benzene andtoluene, and predominately comprises xylene(s), from which renewablep-xylene can be recovered at very high purity (e.g., greater than about90%, greater than about 95%, greater than about 98%, or any other valueor range of values therein or thereabove). As previously describedherein, appropriate conditions (e.g., catalyst identity, temperature,pressure, residence time, etc.) may be selected to favor formation of,e.g., p-xylene over other xylene isomers.

In alternative embodiments of the process of the present invention,renewable aromatics—benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX)—may be producedby the dehydrocyclodimerization and dehydration of renewable alkanes,e.g. isobutane, prepared from renewable alcohols, e.g. isobutanol,reacted with a hydrotreating catalyst. The hydrodeoxygenation processcan be carried out over, e.g., Co/Mo, Ni/Mo or both catalysts in thepresence of hydrogen at moderate temperatures (e.g., ˜150° C.). Whenisobutanol is used as a starting material in this reaction, the reactionmay be highly selective (˜90%) for isobutane with high (e.g., more than95%) conversion.

The renewable alkenes, e.g., propylene or isobutylene, formed by theprocess of the present invention can also be aromatized using variouscatalysts, for example zeolite catalysts, e.g. H-ZSM-5 (Ind. Eng. Chem.Process Des. Dev. 1986 (25) 151) or GaH-ZSM-5 (Applied Catalysis 1988(43) 155), which sequentially oligomerize the feed olefins, cyclize theoligomerized olefins to naphthenes, and dehydrate the naphthenes to thecorresponding aromatic compounds. Alternatively, a metal oxide catalystcan be used in presence of molecular oxygen. This latter type ofcatalyst dimerizes the olefin to the corresponding diene, which isfurther cyclized to the corresponding aromatic compound. Because sucharomatization conditions are more severe than oligomerizationconditions, these two processes are generally carried out as separateprocess steps.

In some embodiments, the production of renewable aromatics fromrenewable propylene or isobutylene is achieved according to one of thefollowing processes:

Aromatization of light olefins using zeolites, e.g. H-ZSM-5 orGaH-ZSM-5:

C₃→C₆-C₈ Aromatics

C₄→C₆-C₈ Aromatics

Oxidative dehydrodimerization of light olefins using metal oxide/O₂:

2C₃H₆→C₆H₁₀→benzene+H₂O

2C₄H₈→C₈H₁₄→p-xylene+H₂O

Dimerization of isobutylene to isooctene followed by its aromatizationusing eta-alumina doped with Cr, Zr, and other elements:

2i-C₄H₈→i-C₈H₁₆→p-xylene+3H₂

In most embodiments, however, it is desirable to dehydrocyclize underreducing conditions in order to produce hydrogen as a co-product. Thehydrogen produced in the dehydrocyclization reaction can then be used toreduce olefins, particularly isooctane or trimethylheptenes, to thecorresponding saturated hydrocarbons which are useful as transportationfuels or fuel additives.

Hydrogenation

Many hydrogenation catalysts are effective, including (withoutlimitation) those containing as the principal component iridium,palladium, rhodium, nickel, ruthenium, platinum, rhenium, compoundsthereof, combinations thereof, and the supported versions thereof.

When the hydrogenation catalyst is a metal, the metal catalyst may be asupported or an unsupported catalyst. A supported catalyst is one inwhich the active catalyst agent is deposited on a support material e.g.by spraying, soaking or physical mixing, followed by drying,calcination, and if necessary, activation through methods such asreduction or oxidation. Materials frequently used as supports are poroussolids with high total surface areas (external and internal) which canprovide high concentrations of active sites per unit weight of catalyst.The catalyst support may enhance the function of the catalyst agent; andsupported catalysts are generally preferred because the active metalcatalyst is used more efficiently. A catalyst which is not supported ona catalyst support material is an unsupported catalyst.

The catalyst support can be any solid, inert substance including, butnot limited to, oxides such as silica, alumina, titania, calciumcarbonate, barium sulfate, and carbons. The catalyst support can be inthe form of powder, granules, pellets, or the like. A preferred supportmaterial of the present invention is selected from the group consistingof carbon, alumina, silica, silica-alumina, titania, titania-alumina,titania-silica, barium, calcium, compounds thereof and combinationsthereof. Suitable supports include carbon, SiO₂, CaCO₃, BaSO₄ TiO₂, andAl₂O₃. Moreover, supported catalytic metals may have the same supportingmaterial or different supporting materials.

In one embodiment, the support is carbon. Further useful supports arethose, including carbon, that have a surface area greater than 100-200m²/g. Other useful supports are those, such as carbon, that have asurface area of at least 300 m²/g. Commercially available carbons whichmay be used include those sold under the following trademarks: Bameby &Sutcliffe™, Darco™, Nuchar™, Columbia JXN™, Columbia LCK™, Calgon PCB™,Calgon BPL™, Westvaco™, Norit™ and Barnaby Cheny NB™. The carbon canalso be commercially available carbon such as Calsicat C, Sibunit C, orCalgon C (commercially available under the registered trademarkCentaur®).

Particular combinations of catalytic metal and support system suitablefor use in the methods of the present invention include nickel oncarbon, nickel on Al₂O₃, nickel on CaCO₃, nickel on TiO₂, nickel onBaSO₄, nickel on SiO₂, platinum on carbon, platinum on Al₂O₃, platinumon CaCO₃, platinum on TiO₂, platinum on BaSO₄, platinum on SiO₂,palladium on carbon, palladium on Al₂O₃, palladium on CaCO₃, palladiumon TiO₂, palladium on BaSO₄, palladium on SiO₂, iridium on carbon,iridium on Al₂O₃, iridium on SiO₂, iridium on CaCO₃, iridium on TiO₂,iridium on BaSO₄, rhenium on carbon, rhenium on Al₂O₃, rhenium on SiO₂,rhenium on CaCO₃, rhenium on TiO₂, rhenium on BaSO₄, rhodium on carbon,rhodium on Al₂O₃, rhodium on SiO₂, rhodium on CaCO₃, rhodium on TiO₂,rhodium on BaSO₄, ruthenium on carbon, ruthenium on Al₂O₃, ruthenium onCaCO₃, ruthenium on TiO₂, ruthenium on BaSO₄, and ruthenium on SiO₂.

Raney metals or sponge metals are one class of catalysts useful for thepresent invention. A sponge metal has an extended “skeleton” or“sponge-like” structure of metal, with dissolved aluminum, andoptionally contains promoters. The sponge metals may also containsurface hydrous oxides, absorbed hydrous radicals, and hydrogen bubblesin pores. Sponge metal catalysts can be made by the process described inU.S. Pat. No. 1,628,190, the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference.

In various embodiments, the sponge metals include nickel, cobalt, iron,ruthenium, rhodium, iridium, palladium, and platinum. Sponge nickel orsponge cobalt are particularly useful as catalysts. The sponge metal maybe promoted by one or more promoters selected from the group consistingof Group IA (lithium, sodium, and potassium), IB (copper, silver, andgold), IVB (titanium and zirconium), VB (vanadium), VIB (chromium,molybdenum, and tungsten), VIIB (manganese, rhenium), and VIII (iron,cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, andplatinum) metals. The promoter can be used in an amount useful to givedesired results. For example, the amount of promoter may be any amountless than 50% by weight of the sponge metal, 0 to 10% by weight, 1 to 5%by weight, or any other value or range of values therein.

Sponge nickel catalysts contain mainly nickel and aluminum. The aluminumis typically in the form of metallic aluminum, aluminum oxides, and/oraluminum hydroxides. Small amounts of other metals may also be presenteither in their elemental or chemically bonded form, such as iron and/orchromium, and may be added to the sponge nickel to increase activity andselectivity for the hydrogenation of certain groups of compounds. Incertain embodiments, chromium and/or iron promoted sponge nickel isemployed as a catalyst.

Sponge cobalt catalysts also contain aluminum and may contain promoters.In certain embodiments, the promoters are nickel and chromium, forexample in amounts of about 2% by weight based on the weight of thecatalyst. Examples of suitable sponge metal catalysts include DegussaBLM 112W, W.R. Grace Raney® 2400, Activated Metals A-4000™, and W.R.Grace Raney® 2724.

As stated above, useful catalytic metals include component iridium,palladium, rhodium, nickel, ruthenium, platinum, rhenium; and usefulsupport materials include carbon, alumina, silica, silica-alumina,titania, titania-alumina, titania-silica, barium, calcium, particularlycarbon, SiO₂, CaCO₃, BaSO₄ and Al₂O₃. A supported catalyst may be madefrom any combination of the above named metals and support materials. Asupported catalyst may also, however, be made from combinations ofvarious metals and/or various support materials selected fromsubgroup(s) of the foregoing formed by omitting any one or more membersfrom the whole groups as set forth in the lists above. As a result, thesupported catalyst may in such instance not only be made from one ormore metals and/or support materials selected from subgroup(s) of anysize that may be formed from the whole groups as set forth in the listsabove, but may also be made in the absence of the members that have beenomitted from the whole groups to form the subgroup(s). The subgroup(s)formed by omitting various members from the whole groups in the listsabove may, moreover, contain any number of the members of the wholegroups such that those members of the whole groups that are excluded toform the subgroup(s) are absent from the subgroup(s). For example, itmay be desired in certain instances to run the process in the absence ofa catalyst formed from palladium on carbon.

The optimal amount of the metal in a supported catalyst depends on manyfactors such as method of deposition, metal surface area, and intendedreaction conditions, but in many embodiments can vary from about 0.1 wt% to about 20 wt % of the whole of the supported catalyst (catalystweight plus the support weight). In particular embodiments, thecatalytic metal content range is from about 0.1 wt % to about 10 wt % byweight of the whole of the supported catalyst. In yet other embodiments,the catalytic metal content range is from about 1 wt % to about 7 wt %by weight of the whole of the supported catalyst. Optionally, a metalpromoter may be used with the catalytic metal in the method of thepresent invention. Suitable metal promoters include: 1) those elementsfrom groups 1 and 2 of the periodic table; 2) tin, copper, gold, silver,and combinations thereof; and 3) combinations of group 8 metals of theperiodic table in lesser amounts.

Temperature, solvent, catalyst, pressure and mixing rate are allparameters that may affect hydrogenation. The relationships among theseparameters may be adjusted to effect the desired conversion, reactionrate, and selectivity in the reaction of the process.

In one embodiment, the hydrogenation temperature is from about 25° C. to350° C. (e.g., from about 50° C. to about 250° C., or any other value orrange of values therein), and in certain embodiments, from about 50° C.to 200° C. The hydrogen pressure can be about 0.1 to about 20 MPa, orabout 0.3 to 10 MPa, and in certain embodiments from about 0.3 to about4 MPa. The reaction may be performed neat or in the presence of asolvent. Useful solvents include those known in the art of hydrogenationsuch as hydrocarbons, ethers, and alcohols (where the alcohols andethers, or hydrocarbon solvents can be renewable). In particularembodiments, alcohols such as lower alkanols like methanol, ethanol,propanol, butanol, and pentanol are useful. Selectivities in the rangeof at least 70% are attainable in the process of the present invention,for example selectivities of at least 85%, at least 90%, or any othervalue or range of values therein or thereabove. Selectivity is theweight percent of the converted material that is a saturated hydrocarbonwhere the converted material is the portion of the starting materialthat participates in the hydrogenation reaction.

Upon completion of the hydrogenation reaction, the resulting mixture ofproducts may be separated by a conventional method, such as for example,by distillation, by crystallization, or by preparative liquidchromatography.

Products

Embodiments of the present invention also relate to renewablehydrocarbon feedstocks and products produced according to the integratedprocesses described herein. Certain exemplary renewable hydrocarbonfeedstocks produced according to the present processes, and productsformed therefrom according to the integrated methods described herein,are described below.

Ethylene

The renewable ethylene produced by the processes of the presentinvention can be used to prepare other hydrocarbons such as propylene,styrene (e.g., by alkylation of benzene) etc. as described herein.Alternatively, at least a portion of the ethylene can be used to prepareother value-added products such as polyethylene (e.g., polyethylenehomopolymers and copolymers, waxes, etc.); ethylene oxide (which itselfcan be used to prepare other products such as polyethylene oxidepolymers and copolymers, ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide-containingspecialty chemicals such as surfactants, detergents, etc.); halogenatedhydrocarbons such as ethylene dichloride, ethylene chloride, ethylenedibromide, chloroethylene, trichloroethylene, and polymers andcopolymers derived from these halogenated hydrocarbons (e.g. PVC, PVdC,etc.); propanal (e.g., by hydroformylation) or propylene (e.g. bymetathesis as described herein).

Propylene

The renewable propylene produced by the process of the present inventioncan be used to prepare a variety of renewable products includingrenewable polypropylene, renewable ethylene propylene rubbers; renewablepropylene oxide and renewable polymers prepared from renewable propyleneoxide such as polypropylene oxide and polypropylene oxide/polyethyleneoxide copolymers, polypropylene oxide polyols for polyurethanes, etc.;renewable aldehydes and ketones such as propanal, acetone,butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, etc.; 2-ethylhexanol and2-ethylhexanoic acid; aromatics such as cumene and phenol; monomers suchacrylic acid, acrylonitrile, and adiponitrile (and derivatives thereofsuch adipic acid, 1,6-diaminohexane), etc.

Renewable polypropylene can be prepared directly from renewablepropylene prepared as described herein using methods and polymerizationcatalysts known in the art (for example, catalysts and methods describedby Hansjorg Sinn and Walter Kaminsky, “Ziegler-Natta Catalysis”,Advances in Organometallic Chemistry 1980 (18) 99-148 and U.S. Pat. No.7,563,836). The resulting renewable polypropylene can have any suitabletacticity (e.g., atactic, isotactic, syndiotactic, eutactic) dependingon the nature of the catalyst used and polymerization conditions. Inaddition, renewable propylene prepared as described herein can becopolymerized with other suitable monomers such as ethylene and/or otherolefins to prepare thermoplastic polymers (e.g., thermoplasticelastomers), at least a portion of which may be renewable. For example,copolymers prepared with the renewable propylene prepared as describedherein can be prepared by the methods described in U.S. Pat. No.5,272,236.

Renewable polypropylene is particularly useful as a replacement forpetroleum derived polypropylene, which is used for a wide variety ofproducts including backing and non-woven fiber sheets used in diapers,as a component of hot melt adhesives (e.g., co-monomers in polyolefinhot melt adhesives), as a component of pressure sensitive adhesives, inextruded/thermoformed/injection molded products, fibers, blown films,cast films, foams, etc., as components and/or copolymers in packaging(films, caps and closures, bottles, containers, etc.), fibers (e.g.,nonwoven sheets, carpet fibers, textiles, tape and strapping, staplefibers, bulk and continuous filament, etc.), as components of toys,housewares (e.g., plastic utensils, cups, storage containers, etc.),packing and insulating foams, automotive components (e.g., interior andexterior trim, bumper fascia, etc.), tools (e.g., handles, power toolenclosures, knobs, etc.), electronic enclosures (e.g., mobile phones,TVs, battery cases, etc.), ropes and cables, wire cladding, pipes, etc.

Alternatively, or in addition, renewable polypropylene prepared asdescribed herein can be used to prepare other monomers such as propyleneoxide. Renewable propylene oxide can be prepared by a variety ofmethods, including oxidation with cumene hydroperoxide (e.g., asdescribed in EP 1382602 or U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,941) or oxidation withhydrogen peroxide (e.g. in the presence of a titanium or vanadiumsilicalite catalyst as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,941 or WO97/47613). Other methods for oxidizing propylene to propylene oxideknown in the art can also be used. The renewable propylene oxide thusformed can then be polymerized or copolymerized using conventionalmethods (e.g., via base-catalyzed polymerization with a base such asKOH, with a salon cobalt catalyst, etc., using a monofunctionalinitiator such as an alcohol, ethylene glycol, etc., or a polyfunctionalinitiator such as glycerol, pentaerythritol, sorbitol, etc.) to provideat least partially renewable polypropylene oxide or at least partiallyrenewable polypropylene oxide copolymers (e.g., ethylene oxide/propyleneoxide copolymers).

If cumene hydroperoxide is used as the oxidizing agent to preparepropylene oxide, the cumene hydroperoxide itself can be prepared fromrenewable propylene and integrated into the process of the presentinvention as described herein. For example, renewable cumenehydroperoxide can be prepared by the oxidation of renewable cumene,which in turn can be prepared from by various combinations of olefinoligomerization, dehydrocyclization, and/or alkylation steps asdescribed herein. For example, renewable propylene can be dimerized,then dehydrocyclized to form renewable benzene, which can then alkylatedwith an additional equivalent of renewable propylene to form renewablecumene (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,860,173 and U.S. Pat. No.4,008,290). Alternatively, renewable propylene can be trimerized anddehydrocyclized directly to form renewable cumene (e.g., similar to themethods described in Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Des. Dev. 1986 (25) 151;Applied Catalysis 1988 (43) 155; or as described in U.S. Pat. No.3,879,486). The product renewable cumene can then be oxidized torenewable cumene hydroperoxide using known methods.

Renewable cumene hydroperoxide can be used as an oxidizing agent tooxidize renewable propylene to propylene oxide (e.g., as described in EP1382602), and/or decomposed to form renewable phenol and renewableacetone (e.g., using the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,751 orU.S. Pat. No. 2,663,735). In some embodiments, the production ofrenewable cumene hydroperoxide from renewable propylene can beintegrated with a process for preparing renewable propylene oxide,renewable phenol, and renewable acetone (e.g., by preparing renewablecumene by the oligomerization-cyclodehydrogenation-alkylation ofrenewable propylene, then oxidizing the renewable cumene to formrenewable cumene hydroperoxide, then contacting additional renewablepropylene with the renewable cumene hydroperoxide to form renewablepropylene oxide, and decomposing renewable cumene hydroperoxide to formrenewable phenol and renewable acetone), as exemplified in FIG. 8.

The renewable acetone prepared by the decomposition of renewable cumenehydroperoxide can then be used, e.g., as a precursor formethylmethacrylate monomer (via reaction with hydrogen cyanide), aprecursor for bisphenol A (via reaction with phenol, e.g., renewablephenol produced in the decomposition of renewable cumene hydroperoxide),or used directly as a renewable industrial solvent. In addition torenewable bisphenol A, the renewable phenol produced by thedecomposition of renewable cumene hydroperoxide can be used as asynthetic intermediate in the preparation of, e.g., aspirin, herbicides,cosmetics, sunscreens, etc., and/or as a monomer in the preparation ofsynthetic resins (phenol/formaldehyde resins such as Bakelite, etc.).

Renewable propylene prepared by the methods disclosed herein can also beconverted to oxidized monomers such as renewable acrylic acid, forexample by reacting propylene in the vapor phase in the presence of asolid phase catalyst, such as those disclosed in WO 2009/017074, e.g., atwo-stage reaction over two different catalyst beds: in the first stage,propylene is oxidized to acrolein using a bismuth molybdate catalyst ina strongly exothermic reaction (at about 370° C.); in the second stage,the acrolein gas is further oxidized to acrylic acid in the gas phaseover a molybdenum vanadium oxide catalyst. Alternatively, the renewablepropylene can be converted to acrylic acid using the methods of U.S.Pat. No. 6,281,384 (e.g., using a bismuth molybdate multicomponent metaloxide catalyst such asMo₁₂Co_(3.5)Bi_(1.1)Fe_(0.8)W_(0.5)Si_(1.4)K_(0.05)O_(x) or a molybdenumvanadate multimetal oxide such asMo₁₂V_(4.8)Sr_(0.5)W_(2.4)Cu_(2.2)O_(x)); in the presence of a mixedmetal oxide catalyst, water, and oxygen using the method of the EP1201636; or by oxidation in the presence of a mixed metal oxide catalystas described in JP 07-053448 or WO2000/09260. The resulting renewableacrylic acid can then be polymerized or copolymerized to form renewablepolyacrylic acid and polyacrylic acid copolymers, polymerized andcross-linked to form superabsorbent gels e.g. for diapers, esterified toform at least partially renewable acrylic esters (or fully renewable ifesterified with renewable alcohols). The at least partially renewableacrylic esters can likewise be polymerized or copolymerized to renewableacrylate ester polymers or copolymers.

Renewable methacrylates can also be formed from renewable propylene, forexample by oxycarbonylation of renewable propylene, e.g., using thecatalytic process of U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,882 in which the propylene, COand O₂ are reacted in the presence of a rhenium compound prepared fromrhenium (V) chloride, aluminum chloride, lithium chloride, and sodiumacetate. Analogously to renewable acrylic acid as described herein,renewable methacrylic acid can be esterified and/or polymerized (orcopolymerized) to form an at least partially renewable methacrylic acid(ester) polymer or copolymer.

Renewable acrylonitrile can be prepared, e.g., by reacting renewablepropylene in the presence of an ammoxidation catalyst (e.g., amulticomponent metal oxide catalyst comprising Bi, Mo, P, and/or Feoxides), oxygen and ammonia, for example as described in EP 1201636,U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,640, U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,385, U.S. Pat. No.3,911,089, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,105. The resulting renewableacrylonitrile can then be polymerized or copolymerized (e.g., to formrenewable polyacrylonitrile).

Renewable acrylonitrile can also be electrochemically dimerized to formadiponitrile, for example using the methods described in GB 1089707 andU.S. Pat. No. 4,155,818, or catalytically dimerized using the methodsdescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,087 (e.g., wherein 1,4-dicyanobutene isreduced to adiponitrile). The resulting renewable adiponitrile can behydrolyzed to form renewable adipic acid and/or reduced to formrenewable hexamethylene diamine (1,6-diaminohexane). The renewableadipic acid or renewable hexamethylene diamine can be polymerizedseparately with, respectively an appropriate diamine or diacid (orsynthetic equivalents thereof), or polymerized together to formcompletely renewable nylon 6,6. Alternatively, the renewable adipic acidand hexamethylene diamine can be used in the preparation of othervaluable and useful materials such as polyurethanes or plasticizers, ascrosslinking agents (e.g., for epoxy resins), etc.

The renewable propylene prepared by the integrated methods describedherein can also be converted to renewable acetone or propanal byoxidation using known methods, or converted to renewable C₄ aldehydes,alcohols, and/or acids by hydroformylation, e.g., using the methods ofU.S. Pat. No. 3,274,263 or U.S. Pat. No. 2,327,066.

Higher alcohols and acids such as 2-ethylhexanol or 2-ethylhexanoic acidcan also be prepared from renewable propylene using similar methods, forexample by reacting renewable polypropylene, carbon monoxide, hydrogenand acetic acid (e.g., prepared by oxidation of renewable ethanol) inthe presence of a suitable catalyst (e.g., cobalt acetate) using themethods of U.S. Pat. No. 2,691,674. 2-Ethylhexanol acetate can beselectively prepared under such conditions at temperatures of about 250°C. to about 290° C. at pressures of about 500-1500 atmospheres and CO/H₂ratios of 0.75-1.5. The renewable 2-ethylhexanol acetate can behydrolyzed to regenerate acetic acid used in the reaction, and theresulting 2-ethylhexanol can be oxidized to 2-ethylhexanoic acid usingknown methods. Alternatively, 2-ethylhexanol can be prepared bybase-catalyzed aldol condensation of n-butyraldehyde using the method ofU.S. Pat. No. 5,144,089. In various embodiments, renewable C₄ and C₆aldehydes, alcohols, acids and acid derivatives (e.g., amides, nitriles,acid chlorides, esters, etc.) can be prepared from renewable propyleneby known processes such as hydroformylation, and/or base catalyzed aldolcondensation, and/or reduction, and/or oxidation of the appropriateintermediates as shown in FIG. 9.

The resulting renewable C₄ and C₆ aldehydes, alcohols, acids and acidderivatives can be used for various applications, for example in thesynthesis of phthalate ester plasticizers (2-ethylhexanol), industrialsolvents (butanols), specialty chemicals (metal salts of 2-ethylhexanoicacid), etc.

In still other embodiments, renewable ethylene, butenes, propyleneand/or higher olefins produced by the present integrated methods may beoligomerized, e.g., as described in U.S. Ser. No. 12/327,723 to providerenewable transportation fuels, e.g., gasoline, jet fuels and/or dieselfuels.

C₄ Oxidized Hydrocarbons

As described above, the process of the present invention providesisobutanol from biomass or CO₂ by, e.g., fermentation or thermochemicalmethods. Renewable isobutanol can be converted to other butanol isomersby, for example, rearrangement of isobutanol, and/or can be converted tovarious butyraldehydes, butyric acids and/or butyric acid derivatives byappropriate oxidation or reaction of the corresponding alcohol. However,in some cases (for example to ensure complete utilization of therenewable propylene) it may be desirable to convert a certain portion ofthe renewable propylene provided by the methods of the present inventionto various renewable C₄ aldehydes, alcohols, and/or acids byhydroformylation.

Butenes

As discussed herein, renewable isobutene and linear butenes produced bythe process of the present invention can be used as starting materialsto produce higher molecular weight renewable olefins and alkanes usefulas renewable fuels and fuel additives, or as monomers for the productionof polymers and copolymers, such as polybutene and polyisobutylenesuitable for use in a variety of applications, for example chemicalintermediates for the preparation of engine oil, fuel additives, andgreases; an intermediate in the preparation of dispersants such aspolybutenyl succinic anhydride; as intermediates in the preparation ofsealants and adhesives; modifiers for polymers such as tackifiers forpolyethylene and for adhesive polymers; and in hydrogenated form ascomponents of cosmetic formulations.

Butadiene

The renewable butadiene thus obtained can then be converted, forexample, to a wide variety of renewable polymers and co-polymers by mostknown methods of polymerization and used in a multitude of commercialapplications. As described herein, renewable butadiene can bepolymerized or copolymerized with other monomers (which themselves maybe renewable monomers or monomers obtained from conventional,non-renewable sources). For example, very low molecular weight polymersand copolymers of butadiene, called telomers or liquid polybutadiene,can be prepared by anionic polymerization using initiators such asn-butyl lithium, often with co-initiators such as potassiumtert-butoxide or tert-amines as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,823 andU.S. Pat. No. 3,356,754. These low molecular weight oligomers (e.g., MW500-3000) can be used in pressure sensitive adhesives and thermosettingrubber applications. Butadiene can also be co- and ter-polymerized withvinyl pyridine and/or other vinyl monomers (e.g. renewable vinylmonomers) in an emulsion process to form polymers useful in floorpolishes, textile chemicals and formulated rubber compositions forautomobile tires. Butadiene can also be anionically polymerized withstyrene (e.g., renewable styrene) and vinyl pyridine to form triblockpolymers as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,721 useful for films and otherrubber applications.

Butadiene and styrene can be sequentially, anionically polymerized innon-polar solvents such as hexane, to form diblock and triblockpolymers, also called SB elastomers, ranging from rigid plastics withhigh styrene content to thermoplastic elastomers with high butadienecontent. These polymers are useful for transparent molded cups, bottles,impact modifiers for brittle plastics, injection molded toys as well ascomponents in adhesives. Solution polybutadiene can be prepared frombutadiene, also by anionic polymerization, using initiators such asn-butyl lithium in non-polar solvents without utilizing a comonomer.These elastomers are non-crosslinked during the polymerization and canbe used as impact modifiers in high impact polystyrene and bulkpolymerized ABS resins, as well as in adhesives and caulks. Solutionpolymerized polybutadiene can also be compounded with other elastomersand additives before vulcanization and used in automobile tires.Emulsion (latex) polymerization can also be used to convert butadieneand optionally, other monomers such a styrene, methyl methacrylate,acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylonitrile, and other vinyl monomers,to polymers having both unique chemical structure and designed physicalstructure suitable for specific end use applications.

Emulsion polymerization utilizes water as the continuous phase for thepolymerization, surfactants to stabilize the growing, dispersed polymerparticles and a compound to generate free radicals to initiate thepolymerization. Styrene-butadiene emulsion rubber used for automobiletires can be made by this process. Renewable vinyl acids such as acrylicacid and methacrylic acid (as described herein) can be copolymerized inthe styrene butadiene rubber. Low levels (0.5-3%) of vinyl acids improvethe stability of the latex and can be beneficial in formulated rubberproducts such as tires, especially when containing polar fillers. Higherlevels of acid in rubber latexes, often called carboxylated latex, areused beneficially in paper coating. Latex polymerization is also used toproduce rubber toughened plastics and impact modifiers. Impact modifiersmade by latex polymerization are also called core-shell modifies becauseof the structure that is formed while polymerizing the monomers thatcomprise the polymer.

MBS resins are made by a sequential emulsion process where butadiene (B)and styrene (S) are first polymerized to form the rubber particle core,typically 0.1-0.5 micrometers in diameter, and then methyl methacrylate(M) is polymerized to form a chemically grafted shell on the outersurface of the SB rubber core, for example as taught in U.S. Pat. No.6,331,580. This impact modifying material is isolated from the latex andblended with plastics to improve their toughness. If acrylonitrile (A)is used in place of the methyl methacrylate, with slight variations inthe process, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,237 and U.S. Pat.No. 4,385,157, emulsion ABS is the product. Each of these components inABS (including acrylonitrile) may be renewable, produced by the methodsdescribed herein. ABS is used in injection molding and extrusionprocesses to produce toys, automobile parts, electronic enclosures andhouse wares. Nitrile rubber is produced in a similar emulsionpolymerization process when butadiene and acrylonitrile arecopolymerized together to produce a polar elastomer that is veryresistant to solvents. Higher butadiene content in the elastomerprovides a softer, more flexible product while higher acrylonitrilecontent results in more solvent resistance. The rubber is isolated fromthe latex by coagulation and can be fabricated into gloves, automotivehoses, and gaskets where its high resistance to solvents is anadvantage.

Renewable butadiene prepared by the process described herein can also beconverted to renewable 1,4-butanediol (BDO) and/or renewabletetrahydrofuran (THF), for example using the process described in JP10-237017 and JP 2001002600 (illustrated below in Scheme I), in whichbutadiene is reacted with acetic acid and oxygen in the presence of apalladium catalyst (liquid phase at about 70° C. and 70 bar, using apromoter such as Sb, Bi, Se or Te) to form 1,4-diacetoxy-2-butene, whichis then hydrogenated (liquid phase, at about 50° C. and 50 bar over aconventional hydrogenation catalyst such as Pd/C) to1,4-diacetoxybutane. Acidic hydrolysis of the 1,4-diacetoxybutane (e.g.,using an acidic ion exchange resin) provides BDO and THF in high yield.

Renewable BDO and THF can be converted to a variety of renewableproducts. For example renewable BDO can be reacted with a suitablediisocyanates to form renewable Lycra™ and Spandex™ products, as well asthermoplastic urethane elastomers. Renewable BDO can also be used toform renewable polybutylene terephthalate by reacting renewable BDO withterephthalic acid or terephthalate esters, or can be copolymerized withrenewable aliphatic diacids such as adipic acid or succinic acid to formrenewable aliphatic polyesters such as polybutylene adipate orpolybutylene succinate. In some embodiments the terephthalic acid orterephthalate esters can be renewable, prepared by oxidation ofrenewable xylene made, e.g., by the method described in U.S. Ser. No.12/327,723 and U.S. 61/295,886. Renewable BDO can also be used toprepare renewable γ-hutyrolactone (GBL), renewable pyrrolidone solventssuch as N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP), renewable N-vinylpyrrolidinone(NVP), etc. as illustrated below in Scheme 2:

Renewable GBL and NMP can be used as solvents, and renewable NVP can beused in personal care products such as hairspray.

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe used to form renewable dodecanedioic acid (DDDA), or renewablelauryllactam by forming the oxime of the intermediate cyclododecanone,then rearranging the oxime to lauryllactam (e.g., using the method ofU.S. Pat. No. 6,649,757). The lauryllactam can then be polymerized toform renewable nylon-12, as shown below in Scheme 3:

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe used to prepare renewable chloroprene, which can be polymerized toprovide renewable synthetic rubbers. Renewable chloroprene can beprepared by chlorinating renewable butadiene (e.g., free radical, gasphase chlorination with Cl₂ at 250° C. and 1-7 bar to give a mixture ofcis and trans-1,4-DCB as well as 3,4-DCB). At butadiene conversions of10-25%, the selectivity to this mixture of DCBs can be 85-95%.3,4-dichloro-1-butene (3,4-DCB) can be dehydrochlorinated to formchloroprene (e.g., using dilute alkaline catalysts at 85° C.), as shownbelow in Scheme 4. The 1,4-DCB by-products can be isomerized to 3,4-DCBusing a copper catalyst. In addition, by distilling off the 3,4-DCBduring the reaction (b.p. 123° C. vs. 155° C. for the 1,4-isomers), theequilibrium of the reaction can be shifted to provide a selectivity of95-98%.

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe used to prepare renewable nylon-6,6 (Scheme 5). For example,renewable nylon-6,6 can be prepared by reacting renewable butadiene withHCN in the presence of a zero valent nickel catalyst to provideadiponitrile. Adiponitrile can be hydrogenated to formhexamethylenediamine (HMD), and hydrolyzed to form adipic acid. The HMDand adipic acid can then be polymerized to form nylon-6,6.

Alternatively, as shown in Scheme 6, renewable adiponitrile can behydrocyanated and cyclized to renewable caprolactam (CL), e.g., using adoped Raney Ni (using the method of U.S. Pat. No. 5,801,286) andcyclized to CL in the presence of water (using the method of U.S. Pat.No. 5,693,793). The renewable caprolactam can then be polymerized toform renewable nylon-6 using methods known in the art.

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe used to prepare renewable sulfolene and sulfolane using the methodillustrated in Scheme 7:

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe used to prepare renewable styrene, renewable polystyrene, andrenewable styrenic polymers (e.g., renewable SBR rubbers). Renewablestyrene can be prepared, for example by dimerizing renewable butadieneto form vinylcyclohexene, which can be dehydrogenated in a stepwisefashion to form ethyl benzene (e.g., using the method of WO2003/070671), then styrene (e.g., using the method of U.S. Pat. No.4,229,603). Alternatively, vinylcyclohexene can be dehydrogenateddirectly to styrene. The renewable styrene can be homopolymerized toform renewable polystyrene, copolymerized with renewable butadiene toform SBR rubber, etc.

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe used to prepare renewable ethylidene norbornene (ENB) for producingcompletely renewable or partially renewable ethylene-propylene-dienerubber (depending on whether renewable ethylene and/or propylene areused). Renewable ethylene can be prepared by dehydrogenating renewableethanol (e.g. produced by fermentation or thermochemical methods), andrenewable propylene can be prepared, for example by the methodsdescribed in U.S. 61/155,029. Renewable ENB can be prepared, forexample, by reacting renewable butadiene and dicyclopentadiene in afour-step process. In the first step, dicyclopentadiene is decoupled tocyclopentadiene and reacted with renewable butadiene via Diels-Aldercondensation to vinylnorbornene (VNB). This is followed by distillationto obtain refined VNB, which is catalytically isomerized (U.S. Pat. No.4,720,601) to ENB.

Renewable butadiene prepared by the processes described herein can alsobe thermally dimerized to form renewable 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD) usingthe methods of, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,787. Renewable COD can be usedin the preparation of renewable ethylene oligomerization catalysts suchas Ni(COD)₂. Butadiene can also be dimerized to produce 1-octene and1-octanol.

In other embodiments, the dehydration of 3-methyl-1-butanol produces amixture of methyl butenes and small amounts of other pentenes which upontreatment with a dehydrogenation catalyst forms primarily isoprene frommethylpentenes (e.g. 2-methyl-1-butene, 2-methyl-2-butene,3-methyl-1-butene), for example 3-methyl-1-butene, and otherpentadienes, such as 1,3-pentadiene, from other pentenes. Thepentadienes are separated from each other by distillation. Dehydrationcatalysts and conditions are optimized to produce varying amounts ofspecific olefins, and their resulting di-olefins upon treatment with adehydrogenation catalyst.

The purification of isobutene as described above produces renewableisobutene that meets all current industrial specifications and can beused to manufacture all chemicals and materials currently produced,e.g., from conventional petroleum-based isobutene. For example,renewable or partially renewable polyisobutylene, butyl rubber, methylmethacrylate, isoprene, and other chemicals can be produced by themethods of the present invention. Renewable isobutene can also beoxidized under suitable conditions to provide methacrylic acid andmethacrylic acid esters (Scheme 8). Isobutene can be oxidized oversuitable metal oxide catalysts (e.g., using the methods described in JP2005-253415) at temperatures of about 300-500° C. to methacrolein (MAL)which is then further oxidized to methacrylic acid (MMA) (WO 2003053570)at temperatures of about 350-500° C. The resultant methacrylic acid canbe further esterified to methylmethacrylate. The oxidation of isobuteneto MMA may also be accomplished in a single step (e.g. as described inWO2003053570).

An alternative process for the preparation of MMA is by the oxidativeesterification of MAL to MMA (e.g., as described in U.S. Pat. No.4,518,796) using catalysts such as Pd/Pb/Mg—Al₂O₃ (e.g., as described inJP 2006306731) and Pd₅Bi₂Fe/CaCO₃ (Scheme 9.

Additionally, all materials currently produced from butadiene such assynthetic rubbers and nylon can be manufactured from the renewablebutadiene produced by the dehydrogenation of renewable butenes accordingto the present invention. For example, butadiene is used directly as amonomer and co-monomer for the production of synthetic rubber. It isalso converted into “oxidized” monomers such as 1,4-butanediol,adiponitrile, and adipic acid as described herein for the production ofpolyester and nylon materials (e.g., adipic acid is produced by thehydrocarboxylation of butadiene in the presence of a suitable catalyst,CO and water; e.g., adiponitrile is produced by the hydrocyanation ofbutadiene in the presence of a suitable catalyst). The production ofrenewable isoprene from the dehydrogenation of methylbutenes or thehydroformylation and dehydration of renewable isobutene allows thepreparation of renewable or partially renewable versions of allchemicals and materials produced from isoprene, especially syntheticrubber and other polymers.

One of the major industrial uses of isobutene is in the production ofbutyl rubber primarily for use in automobile tires. Butyl rubber is ahigh performance polymer comprised of high purity isobutene crosslinkedwith di-olefins such as butadiene or isoprene (e.g., U.S. Pat. No.2,984,644; Dhaliwal G K, Rubber Chemistry and Technology 1994 (67) 567).Typically, 1-3% of di-olefin is blended with isobutene andco-polymerized in the presence of a polymerization catalyst such asaluminum chloride and other metal salts.

In some embodiments, renewable isoprene is produced by contacting3-methyl-1-butanol or 2-methyl-1-butanol with a dehydration catalyst anda dehydrogenation catalyst, under conditions similar to those describedherein for preparing renewable butadiene. The renewable isoprene thusformed may then blended with renewable isobutene, obtained by themethods described above or by conventional methods such as hydration ofisobutylene to t-butanol and subsequent dehydration to isobutene, toform a renewable monomer feedstock for the production of renewable butylrubber. Petroleum-based isoprene and isobutene can also used with therenewable isoprene and/or isobutene to produce butyl rubber that ispartially renewable. In addition to blending purified isoprene withpurified isobutene to produce butyl rubber, a renewable blend ofisobutene and isoprene can be produced by contacting a mixture ofisobutanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol (or 2-methyl-1-butanol) with adehydration catalyst to form isobutylene and 3-S methyl-butenes (or2-methyl-butenes) and then contacting this olefin mixture with adehydrogenation catalyst to form isobutene and isoprene. By-productssuch as butadiene and other C₅ olefins and di-olefins are removed byextractive distillation to give mixtures containing only isobutene andisoprene. The amount of isoprene in the mixture can be Controlled bymanipulating the 3-methyl-1-butanol producing pathway in the hostmicroorganism or the appropriate selection of catalyst in thethermochemical conversion of biomass. In some embodiments, the3-methyl-1-butanol (or 2-methyl-1-butanol) concentration is tuned to1-3% of the isobutanol produced such that the resultingisobutene/isoprene mixture can be directly used to produce butyl rubber.Alternatively, in other embodiments a higher concentration of3-methyl-1-butanol is produced to form a mixture of isobutene andisoprene that is then diluted with pure isobutene to optimize butylrubber production. The isoprene produced from 3-methyl-1-butanol (or2-methyl-1-butanol) containing isobutanol is also separately removed andblended with isobutene to the appropriate concentration. Alternatively,the butadiene produced by the dehydrogenation of 1- and 2-butenes isused as a cross-linking agent in a butyl rubber product.

In view of the foregoing description, it will be appreciated thatstarting from simple renewable ethanol and isobutanol feedstocks,essentially any product currently derived or produced from petroleumfeedstocks can be produced by the present integrated processes.Exemplary methods of producing certain renewable mono- and polyolefins,unsubstituted and substituted aromatics, derivatives thereof (e.g.,acids, esters, acid derivatives, heterosubstituted compounds, etc.) andpolymers and products therefrom have been described. It will beappreciated that methods and/or transformation as described herein forone compound are generally analogous and applicable to other, similarcompounds and that such transformations and products are within thescope of the present integrated methods.

The present integrated processes will now be further described withreference to the following, non-limiting examples.

Example 1 Production of Isobutanol from Lignocellulosics

A cellulosic material consisting of 45% cellulose, 25% hemicellulose,22% lignin and 8% other materials is pretreated to yield a slurry of 8%insoluble cellulose with about 4% insoluble lignin, 1% glucose, 40 g/Lxylose, 2 g/L mannose, 2 g/L galactose, 1 g/L arabinose, 5 g/L aceticacid in solution. The slurry is fed into an agitated saccharificationand fermentation vessel and charged with cellulase enzyme sufficient tohydrolyze 80% of the cellulose 72 hours. A microorganism known toferment glucose, xylose, mannose, galactose and arabinose to isobutanolis added to the fermentation, and the vessel is agitated for 72 hours.Isobutanol produced by the fermentation is separated from thefermentation broth by distillation. The first isobutanol-containingdistillation cut contains 20% w/w isobutanol and 80% w/w water thatcondenses to form two phases—a light phase containing 85% isobutanol and15% water and a heavy phase containing 8% isobutanol and 92% water. Thelight phase is distilled a second time and two low-water cuts ofisobutanol are obtained. One cut is comprised of 99.5% isobutanol and0.5% water while the second cut is comprised of 98.8% isobutanol, 1%3-methyl-1-butanol, and 0.2% water.

Example 2 Dehydration of Isobutanol

Isobutanol obtained in Example 1 was fed through a preheater and to afixed-bed tubular reactor packed with a commercial dehydration catalyst(BASF AL3996). The internal reactor temperature was maintained at 300°C. and the reactor pressure was atmospheric. The WHSV of the isobutanolwas 6 hr⁻¹. Primarily isobutene and water were produced in the reactorand separated in a gas-liquid separator at 20° C.; the water had 1% ofunreacted isobutanol and conversion was 99.8%. GC-MS of the gas phaseeffluent indicated it was 96% isobutene, 2.5% 2-butene (cis and trans)and 1.5% 1-butene.

Example 3 Dehydration of Isobutanol

Isobutanol obtained in Example 1 is fed through a preheater and to afixed-bed tubular reactor packed with a commercial dehydration catalyst(e.g., an X-type zeolite). The internal reactor temperature ismaintained at 370° C. and the reactor pressure is atmospheric. The WHSVof the isobutanol is 3 hr⁻¹. A mixture of C₄ olefins and water areproduced in the reactor and separated in a gas-liquid separator at 20°C.; the water has <1% of unreacted isobutanol and conversion is >99.8%.GC-MS of the gas phase effluent indicates it is 50% isobutene, 40%2-butene (cis and trans) and 10% 1-butene.

Example 4 Co-Dehydration of Ethanol and Isobutanol

60 g of a commercial γ-alumina dehydration catalyst (BASF AL-3996) isloaded into a fixed-bed tubular reactor. A feed mixture is prepared bymixing 250 mL of ethanol with 750 mL of isobutanol. The feed mixture ispumped through a preheater and onto the catalyst bed at a feed rate of2.5 mL/min. The internal reactor temperature is maintained at 350° C.,the pressure was atmospheric, and the weight hourly space velocity(WHSV) of the mixed alcohol feed is ˜2/hr. The products are separated ina gas-liquid separator. The water contains 0.9 wt % ethanol and 0.3 wt %isobutanol indicating conversions of 99% and 99.9% respectively. Thegas-phase effluent is 35% ethylene and 65% butenes (molar basis). Thebutenes are found to be 55% isobutene, 13% 1-butene, 12% cis-2-butene,and 20% trans-2-butene.

Example 4a Dehydration of Dry Isobutanol

Dry isobutanol (<1 wt % water) obtained in Example 1 was fed through apreheater to a fixed-bed tubular reactor packed with a commercialγ-alumina dehydration catalyst (BASF AL-3996). The internal reactortemperature was maintained at 325° C. and the reactor pressure wasatmospheric. The WHSV of the isobutanol was 5 hr⁻¹. Primarily isobuteneand water were produced in the reactor, and were separated in agas-liquid separator at 20° C.; the water had <1% of unreactedisobutanol and the conversion was >99.8%. GC-FID analysis of the gasphase effluent indicated it was 95% isobutene, 3.5% 2-butene (cis andtrans) and 1.5% 1-butene.

Example 5 Purification of Isobutene by Dehydrogenation of Butenes

A mixed butene stream from Example 2, containing 96% isobutene, 2.5%2-butenes (cis and trans), and 1.5% 1-butene is mixed with air at arelative feed rate of 10:1 butenes:air. The resultant mixture is 1.9%oxygen and 3.6% linear butenes. The mixture is preheated to 400° C. andfed at a GHSV of 300 hr⁻¹ to a fixed-bed tubular reactor loaded with 2catalyst beds in sequence; the first contains ZnFe₂O₄ and the secondcontains Co₉Fe₃BiMoO₅₁. The effluent from the reactor is dried over amolecular sieve column to remove water. Nitrogen and oxygen are removedby passing the C₄ stream through a gas-liquid separator at −78° C. (dryice bath). The C₄ product is analyzed via GC-MS. The composition isfound to be 96% isobutene, 3.9% butadiene, and 0.1% linear butenes.butadiene is stripped from the gas stream by extraction withacetonitrile. The resultant stream is 99.9% isobutene and 0.1% linearbutenes with trace butadiene (<0.01%).

Example 6 Purification of Isobutene by Dehydrogenation of Butenes

A mixed butene stream from Example 3, containing 50% isobutene, 40%2-butenes (cis and trans), and 10% 1-butene is mixed with air at arelative feed rate of 4:5 butenes:air. The resultant mixture is 11.7%oxygen and 22.2% linear butenes. The mixture is preheated to 400° C. andfed at a GHSV of 300 to a fixed-bed tubular reactor loaded with 2catalyst beds in sequence; the first contains ZnFe₂O₄ and the secondcontains Co₉Fe₃BiMoO₅₁. The effluent from the reactor is dried over amolecular sieve column to remove water. Nitrogen and oxygen are removedby passing the C₄ stream through a gas-liquid separator at −78° C. (dryice bath). The C₄ product is analyzed via GC-MS. The composition isfound to be 50% isobutene, 49.9% butadiene, and 0.1% linear butenes.butadiene is stripped from the gas stream by extraction withacetonitrile. The resultant stream is 99.9% isobutene and 0.1% linearbutenes with trace butadiene (<0.01%).

Example 7 Preparation of Butadiene from Butenes

120 sccm of nitrogen and 120 sccm of 2-butene (mixture of cis and trans)was fed through a preheater and to a fixed-bed tubular reactor packedwith 15 g of a commercial Cr₂O₃ on alumina dehydrogenation catalyst(BASF Snap catalyst). The internal reactor temperature was maintained at600° C. and the reactor pressure was atmospheric. The WHSV of the2-butene was about 1 hr⁻¹. GC-FID of the gas phase effluent indicated itwas 74% linear butenes (mixture of 1-, cis-2-, and trans-2-), 16%butadiene, 2.5% n-butane, and 7.5% C₁-C₃ hydrocarbons. The resultingconversion of 2-butene was 26% (ignoring rearrangement to 1-butene) witha selectivity to butadiene of 61.5% based on % carbon.

Example 9 Integrated Preparation of Butadiene from Isobutanol

Renewable wet isobutanol (containing 15% water and ˜0.4% ethanol)obtained from fermentation was fed through a preheater and to afixed-bed tubular reactor packed with a commercial γ-alumina dehydrationcatalyst (BASF Snap catalyst). The internal reactor temperature wasmaintained at 400° C. and the reactor pressure was atmospheric. The WHSVof the isobutanol was ˜0.1 hr⁻¹. The products were separated in agas-liquid separator at 20° C., where relatively pure water was removedas the liquid product. The gas phase product was dried over a molecularsieve bed. GC-FID of the gas phase effluent from the dehydration reactorwas 82% isobutylene, 13% linear butenes (mixture of 1-butene, and cis-and trans-2-butene), 4.5% ethylene, and 0.5% propylene. The flow of thegas-phase stream was ˜120 sccm. This stream was combined with 120 sccmof nitrogen and was fed through a preheater and to a fixed-bed tubularreactor packed with 15 g of a commercial Cr₂O₃ on aluminadehydrogenation catalyst. The internal reactor temperature wasmaintained at 600° C. and the reactor pressure was atmospheric. The WHSVof the mixed butene stream was about 1 hr⁻¹. GC-FID of the gas phaseeffluent indicated it was 78.5% isobutylene with 2.5% isobutane, 7.5%linear butenes, 3.7% ethylene with 0.6% ethane, 2.9% butadiene, and theremaining 4.4% was methane and propylene. This indicates an approximateyield of 22% butadiene based on linear butenes fed to thedehydrogenation reactor.

Example 10 Preparation of Propylene from Ethylene and 2-Butenes

A metathesis catalyst is prepared by dissolving 0.83 g of ammoniummetatungstate in 100 mL of distilled water, stirring the resultingsolution with 5 g of silica gel (300 m²/g, pore volume 1 mL/g),evaporating the water, then calcining the resulting solid in air at 550°C. for 6 hours. The resulting supported tungsten oxide catalyst is thenmixed with hydrotalcite at a weight ratio of about 1:5 tungsten oxidecatalyst/hydrotalcite. A metathesis reactor is then prepared by addingthe tungsten oxide catalyst/hydrotalcite catalyst to a fixed-bed tubularreactor.

An ethylene guard column is prepared by loading a fixed-bed tubularreactor sequentially with approximately equal amounts of hydrotalciteand γ-alumina, and a butene guard column is prepared by loading afixed-bed tubular reactor sequentially with the tungsten oxide catalyst(prepared as described above) and approximately twice the amount (byweight) of hydrotalcite.

The disproportionation reaction is carried out by first purging theguard columns and metathesis reactor with an approximately 100 mL/minflow of N2 at atmospheric pressure. The purged reactor and guard columnsare then heated to 500° C. with continuing N2 flow for 1 hr. The guardcolumns and reactors are maintained at 500° C.; then approximately 100mL/min of H2 gas at atmospheric pressure is added to the N2 purge, andmaintained for 2 hrs. The reactor is then cooled to 200° C., and theguard columns cooled to 50° C., and the flow of N2 and H2 is reduced to50 mL/min. After purification in the respective guard columns, liquefiedrenewable 2-butene is then introduced into the butene guard column at arate of 0.10 g/min, and liquefied renewable ethylene is introduced intothe ethylene guard column at a flow rate of 64.5 mL/min and a pressureof 3.5 MPa. The ethylene, 2-butene, and H2 (7.0 mL/min, 3.5 MPa) werethen charged into the metathesis reactor (after preheating to 200° C.).The butene conversion rate obtained by subtracting the total amount oftrans-2-butene, cis-2-butene and 1-butene contained in the outlet gasfrom the metathesis reactor is 71%. The propylene selectivity based onbutene is 90%. Small amounts of propane, pentene and hexene are alsoproduced.

Example 11 Oligomerization of Isobutene

The product stream from Example 4a was dried over molecular sieves,compressed to 60 psig, cooled to 20° C. so that the isobutene wascondensed to a liquid and pumped with a positive displacement pump intoa fixed-bed oligomerization reactor packed with a commercial ZSM-5catalyst (CBV 2314). The reactor was maintained at 175° C. and apressure of 750 psig. The WHSV of the isobutene-rich stream was 15 hr⁻¹.The reactor effluent stream was 10% unreacted butenes, 60% isooctenes(primarily 2,4,4-trimethylpentenes), 28% trimers, and 2% tetramers.

Example 12 Oligomerization of Isobutene

The product stream from Example 4a is co-fed with 50% isobutane to acompressor, condensed and pumped into a fixed-bed oligomerizationreactor packed with Amberlyst 35 (strongly acidic ionic exchange resinavailable from Rohm & Haas). The reactor is maintained at 120° C. and apressure of 500 psig. The WHSV of the isobutene-rich stream is 100 hr⁻¹.The product stream is about 50% isobutane (diluents), about 3% unreactedbutenes, about 44% isooctenes (primarily 2,4,4-trimethylpentenes), andabout 3% trimers.

Example 13 Dehydrocyclization of Isooctene

Isooctene from Example 11 was distilled to remove trimers and tetramersand then fed at a molar ratio of 1.3:1 mol nitrogen diluent gas to afixed bed reactor containing a commercial chromium oxide doped aluminacatalyst (BASF D-1145E ⅛″). The reaction was carried out at atmosphericpressure and a temperature of 550° C., with a WHSV of 1.1 hr⁻¹. Thereactor product was condensed and analyzed by GC-MS. Of the xylenefraction, p-xylene was produced in greater than 80% selectivity.Analysis by method ASTM D6866-08 showed p-xylene to contain 96% biobasedmaterial.

Example 14 Hydrogenation of Isooctene

Palladium on carbon (0.5% Pd/C, 2 g) catalyst was charged into a 2000 mLstainless steel batch reactor equipped with stirrer. 1000 mL of ahydrocarbon fraction comprising isooctene isomers was charged into thereactor. The reactor was then flushed with nitrogen and pressurized with100 psig hydrogen. The reaction mixture was stirred for one hour and thetemperature was increased from ambient temperature to 80-100° C. Thereactor was subsequently cooled down to ambient temperature and excesshydrogen remaining in the reactor was released, and the reactor purgedwith a small amount of nitrogen. The product was filtered off from thecatalyst and GC analysis of the product showed 100% hydrogenation.

Example 15 Oxidation of Renewable p-Xylene to Terephthalic Acid

A 300 mL Parr reactor was charged with glacial acetic acid, bromoaceticacid, cobalt acetate tetrahydrate, and p-xylene, obtained from Example13, in a 1:0.01:0.025:0.03 mol ratio of glacial acetic acid:bromoaceticacid:cobalt acetate tetrahydrate:p-xylene. The reactor was equipped witha thermocouple, mechanical stirrer, oxygen inlet, condenser, pressuregauge, and pressure relief valve. The reactor was sealed and heated to150° C. The contents were stirred and oxygen was bubbled through thesolution. A Pressure of 50-60 psi was maintained in the system and thesereaction conditions were maintained for 4 h. After 4 h, the reactor wascooled to room temperature. Terephthalic acid was filtered from solutionand washed with fresh glacial acetic acid.

Example 16 Purification of Renewable Terephthalic Acid

Terephthalic acid from Example 15 was charged to a 300 mL Parr reactorwith 10% Pd on carbon catalyst in a 4.5:1 mol ratio of terephthalicacid:10% Pd on carbon. Deionized water was charged to the reactor tomake a slurry containing 13.5 wt. % terephthalic acid. The reactor wasequipped with a thermocouple, mechanical stirrer, nitrogen inlet,hydrogen inlet, pressure gauge, and pressure relief valve. The Parrreactor was sealed and flushed with nitrogen. The Parr reactor was thenfilled with hydrogen until the pressure inside the reactor reached 600psi. The reactor was heated to 285° C. and the pressure inside thevessel reached 1000 psi. The contents were stirred under theseconditions for 6 h. After 6 h, contents were cooled to room temperatureand filtered. The residue was transferred to a vial andN,N-dimethylacetamide was added to the vial in a 5:1 mol ratio ofN,N-dimethylacetamide:terephthalic acid. The vial was warmed to 80° C.for 30 minutes to dissolve the terephthalic acid. The contents werefiltered immediately; Pd on carbon was effectively removed from theterephthalic acid. Crystallized terephthalic acid filtrate was removedfrom the collection flask and was transferred to a clean filter where itwas washed with fresh N,N-dimethylacetamide and dried. A yield of 60%purified terephthalic acid was obtained.

Example 17 Polymerization of Terephthalic Acid to Make Renewable Pet

Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) obtained from Example 16 and ethyleneglycol are charged to a 300 mL Parr reactor in a 1:0.9 mol ratio ofPTA:ethylene glycol. Antimony (III) oxide is charged to the reactor in a1:0.00015 mol ratio of PTA:antimony (III) oxide. The reactor is equippedwith a thermocouple, mechanical stirrer, nitrogen inlet, vacuum inlet,condenser, pressure gauge, and pressure relief valve. The Parr reactoris sealed, flushed with nitrogen, heated to a temperature of 240° C.,and pressurized to 4.5 bar with nitrogen. Contents are stirred underthese conditions for 3 h. After 3 h, the temperature is increased to280° C. and the system pressure is reduced to 20-30 mm by connecting thereactor to a vacuum pump. Contents are stirred under these conditionsfor 3 h. After 3 h, the vacuum valve is closed and the contents of thereactor are flushed with nitrogen. The reactor is opened and contentsare immediately poured into cold water to form PET pellets.

Example 18 Preparation of Diisobutylene from Isobutanol

Isobutanol produced by fermentation was separated from the fermentationbroth by distillation. The isobutanol, which contains 16% water, waspassed through a chemical reactor containing a commercial γ-aluminacatalyst heated to 310° C. at ˜10 psig and a WHSV of 6 hr⁻¹. The waterdrained from the bottom of the reactor contained less than 0.1 Misobutanol, and isobutylene (gas) was collected with >99% conversion.The isobutylene gas was dried by passing it through molecular sieves,and was then fed into a second reactor containing a ZSM-5 catalystmaintained at 140-160° C., ambient pressure, and WHSV=1.5 hr⁻¹ to give˜60% conversion to a mixture of about 80% of diisobutylene isomers andabout 20% triisobutylene isomers and minor quantities of highermolecular weight products.

Example 19 Preparation of Isododecane from Isobutanol

Isobutanol produced by fermentation (e.g. according to Example 1) wasseparated from the fermentation broth by distillation. The isobutanol,which contains 16% water, was passed through a chemical reactorcontaining acidic commercial γ-alumina catalyst heated to 310° C. at ˜10psig and a WHSV of 6 hr⁻¹. The water drained from the bottom of thereactor contained less than 0.1 M isobutanol, and isobutylene (gas) wascollected with >99% conversion. The isobutylene gas was dried by passingit through molecular sieves, and was then fed into a second reactorcontaining Amberlyst® 35, maintained at 100-120° C., ambient pressure,and WHSV=2.5 hr to give ˜90% conversion to a mixture of about 15% ofdiisobutylene isomers, 75% triisobutylene isomers and 10% tetramers. Theliquid product was pumped to a trickle-bed hydrogenation reactor packedwith a commercial 0.5% Pd on alumina catalyst and co-fed with 10% excesshydrogen. Hydrogenation of >99% of the olefins occurred at 150° C., 150psig, and WHSV=3 hr⁻¹. The saturated hydrocarbon product was collectedwith an overall process yield of ˜90%.

Example 20 Preparation of Gasoline from Dimers and Trimers ofIsobutylene

A mixture of about 80% diisobutylene isomers and about 20%triisobutylene isomers and minor quantities of higher molecular weightproducts was fed into a hydrogenation reactor containing a 0.5% Pd onalumina catalyst maintained at 150° C. and 150 psi to give a saturatedhydrocarbon product, which was distilled at atmospheric pressure to givethree fractions containing diisobutylene, triisobutylene and smallquantities of higher molecular weight products. The three fractions canbe separated and used in aviation gasoline and auto gasoline.

Example 21 Preparation of Methylundecene from Isobutylene

90 g of renewable isobutylene was loaded into a 350 mL batch reactorwith 10 g of a ZSM-5 catalyst (Si:Al ratio=80) that had been treatedwith 2,4,6-trimethyl pyridine. The sealed reactor was heated to 220° C.and allowed to react for approximately 40 hours. 75 mL of product wascollected and a sample was analyzed by GC/MS. The composition wasapproximately 30% C₁₂ or larger molecules and the primary compounds wereisomers of methylundecene.

Example 22 Preparation of Diesel Fuel from Methylundecene

The unsaturated product from Example 21 was loaded into a 350 mL batchreactor containing 1 g of 5% Pd/C catalyst. The reactor was flushed withnitrogen and pressurized with 200 psig of hydrogen. The reactor washeated to 100° C. and held at this temperature for 1 hour. 70 mL ofproduct was collected and analyzed by GC/MS. The product was found to befully saturated. 70 mL of this hydrogenated mixture was then distilledto concentrate the C₁₂+ fraction (e.g., the fraction containing C₁₂ orhigher hydrocarbons). Approximately 50 mL of the mixture was distilledoff (primarily C₈ hydrocarbons), leaving 20 mL of C₁₂+ hydrocarbons. Theflash point of the final product was measured as 51° C. and the derivedcetane number was measured by ASTM D6890-07 as 68. The product wasdetermined to meet the ASTM specifications for #1 diesel fuel.

Example 23 Jet Fuel from Isobutylene

Renewable isobutylene was trimerized using a fixed bed continuous flowsystem equipped with a tube furnace housing SS 316 reactor (OD 5/16 in×12 in), gas flow meters, an HPLC pump, a back pressure regulator, and agas-liquid separator. In a typical trimerization procedure, the reactorwas loaded with β Zeolite CP 814C (Zeolyst International) andisobutylene was fed at WHSV 1-3 h⁻¹ at a reaction temperature of140-180° C., at atmospheric pressure. The isobutylene conversion was 85%with a product distribution of about 29% dimer isomers, 58% trimerisomers, and 11% tetramer isomers. The hydrogenation of the resultingoligomer blend was carried out at 150° C. and 150 psi H₂ to give ahydrocarbon product which was fractionated to provide a blend ofsaturated C₁₂ (trimers) and C₁₆ (tetramers) hydrocarbons that were usedas a jet fuel feedstock.

Example 24 Preparation of BTEX from Isobutylene

A fixed bed continuous flow system equipped with a tube furnace housingSS 316 reactor (OD 5/16 in ×12 in), gas flow meters, an HPLC pump, backpressure regulator, and a gas-liquid separator was loaded with ZSM-5 CBV8014 Zeolite catalyst. The catalyst was calcined at 540° C. under N₂ for8 hrs before the reaction was started. Isobutylene (e.g., prepared asdescribed herein) was fed into the reactor at WHSV 1.0 h⁻¹ and thereaction conditions were maintained at 400-550° C. and atmosphericpressure. Aromatic products were formed in about 45% yield and theselectivity for BTEX (e.g., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene)was 80%. The aromatic product was separated and used in fuels and otherproducts.

Example 25 Preparation of BTEX and Hydrogen from Diisobutylene

A fixed bed continuous flow reactor was loaded with ZSM-5 CBV 8014Zeolite catalyst. Prior to initiating the reaction, the catalyst wascalcined at 540° C. under N₂ for 8 hrs. Isobutylene was fed into thereactor at a WHSV of 1.6 h⁻¹ while the reaction conditions weremaintained at 400-550° C. and atmospheric pressure. Aromatic productswere formed in about 38% yield and with a selectivity for BTEX of 80%.The aromatic products were isolated and used in fuels and otherproducts. Hydrogen also was produced as a byproduct of the reaction;about 3 moles of hydrogen were produced for each mole of aromatic ringformed.

Example 26 Integrated Oligomers Production from Isobutylene

Isobutanol produced by fermentation (e.g., as described herein) wasseparated from the fermentation broth by distillation. The isobutanol,which contains 16% water, was passed through a chemical reactorcontaining pelleted SPA catalyst heated to 350° C. at 1 atmosphere.Water was drained from the bottom of the reactor and isobutylene wascollected with 99% conversion. The isobutylene gas was dried by passingit through molecular sieves, and was then fed into a second reactorcontaining Amberlyst® 35 (Rohm and Haas) catalyst maintained at 120-140°C. and ambient pressure to give 90% conversion to a mixture of about 27%of diisobutylene isomers and about 70% triisobutylene isomers, and minorquantities of higher molecular weight products.

Example 27 Integrated Saturated Oligomers Production from Isobutylene

Isobutanol produced by fermentation (e.g., as described herein) wasseparated from the fermentation broth by distillation. The isobutanol,which contains 16% water, was passed through a chemical reactorcontaining pelleted SPA catalyst heated to 350° C. at 1 atmosphere.Water was drained from the bottom of the reactor and isobutylene wascollected with 99% conversion. The isobutylene gas was dried by passingit through molecular sieves, and then fed into a second reactorcontaining Amberlyst® 35 (Rohm and Haas) catalyst maintained at 120-140°C. and ambient pressure to give 90% conversion to a mixture of about 27%of diisobutylene isomers and about 70% triisobutylene isomers and minorquantities of higher molecular weight products. This oligomers blend wasthen fed into a third reactor to hydrogenate the olefins over 0.5% Pdsupported in alumina at 150° C. and 150 psi H₂. The resulting productwas fractionated to isolate a blend of isobutylene trimers and tetramersthat were used as a jet fuel feedstock.

Example 28 Integrated Production of p-Xylene from Isobutanol

Renewable isobutanol is converted to renewable p-xylene using a processillustrated in FIG. 10. Renewable isobutanol (e.g., as described herein)is fed wet (15 wt % water) through a preheater into a fixed-bed catalystreactor packed with a commercial γ-alumina catalyst (BASF AL-3996) at aWHSV of 10 hr⁻¹. The dehydration reactor is maintained at 290° C. at apressure of 60 psig. The effluent (3) from the dehydration reactor isfed to a liquid/liquid separator, where water is removed. Analysis ofthe organic phase (4) shows that it is 95% isobutylene, 3% linearbutenes, and 2% unreacted isobutanol. The organic phase is combined witha recycle stream (11) containing isobutane, isooctane, and unreactedbutenes and fed to a positive displacement pump (P2) where it is pumpedto an oligomerization reactor packed with HZSM-5 catalyst (CBV 2314) ata WHSV of 100 hr⁻¹. The reactor is maintained at 170° C. at a pressureof 750 psig. The effluent (6) from the oligomerization reactor isanalyzed and shown to contain 60% unreacted feed (isobutane, isooctane,and butenes), 39% isooctene, and 1% trimers. The effluent from theoligomerization reactor is combined with recycled isooctene (15) and fedthrough a preheater and to a fixed bed reactor containing a commercialchromium oxide doped alumina catalyst (BASF D-1145E ⅛″) at a WHSV of 1hr⁻¹. The dehydrocyclization reactor is maintained at 550° C. and 5psia. The yield of xylenes from the reactor relative to C₈ alkenes inthe feed is 42% with a selectivity to p-xylene of 90%. The effluent (8)is separated with a gas-liquid separator. The gas-phase is compressed(C1) to 60 psig causing the isobutane and butenes to condense. A secondgas-liquid separator is used to recover the hydrogen (and smallquantities of methane or other light hydrocarbons). The C₄ liquids arerecycled (11) and combined with the organic phase from the dehydrationreactor (4). The liquid product (12) from the dehydrocyclization reactoris fed to a series of distillation columns slightly above atmosphericpressure by a pump (P3). Any by-product light aromatics (benzene andtoluene) and heavy compounds (C₉₊ aromatics or isoolefins) are removed.A side stream (14) rich in xylenes and iso-C₈ compounds are fed to asecond distillation column. The C8 compounds (isooctene and isooctane)are recycled (15) to the feed of the dehydrocyclization reactor. Thexylene fraction (16) is fed to a purification process resulting in a99.99% pure p-xylene product and a small byproduct stream rich ino-xylene.

The embodiments described herein and illustrated by the foregoingexamples should be understood to be illustrative of the presentinvention, and should not be construed as limiting. On the contrary, thepresent disclosure embraces alternatives and equivalents thereof, asembodied by the appended claims.

1. An integrated process for preparing renewable hydrocarbons,comprising: (a) providing renewable isobutanol and renewable ethanol;(b) dehydrating the renewable isobutanol, thereby forming a renewablebutene mixture comprising one or more renewable linear butenes andrenewable isobutene; (c) dehydrating the renewable ethanol, therebyforming renewable ethylene; and (d) reacting at least a portion of therenewable butene mixture and at least a portion of the renewableethylene to form one or more renewable C₃-C₁₆ olefins. 2-57. (canceled)58. The integrated process of claim 1, wherein the one or more renewablelinear butenes comprise one or more of 1-butene, cis-2-butene ortrans-2-butene.
 59. The integrated process of claim 1, wherein saidreacting of step (d) comprises one or more reactions selected from thegroup consisting of disproportionation, metathesis, oligomerization,isomerization, alkylation, dehydrodimerization, dehydrocyclization, andcombinations thereof.
 60. The integrated process of claim 1, whereinsaid reacting of step (d) comprises disproportionating at least aportion of the renewable ethylene formed in step (c), and at least aportion of the renewable 2-butene formed in step (b) and renewable2-butene formed by isomerizing the renewable isobutene formed in step(b), thereby forming renewable propylene.
 61. The integrated process ofclaim 1, further comprising reacting at least a portion of saidrenewable isobutene with formaldehyde to form isoprene.
 62. Theintegrated process of claim 61, wherein the formaldehyde comprisesrenewable formaldehyde.
 63. The integrated process of claim 62, whereinthe isoprene comprises renewable isoprene.
 64. The integrated process ofclaim 60, further comprising dimerizing and dehydrocyclizing saidrenewable propylene to form renewable benzene.
 65. The integratedprocess of claim 64, further comprising reacting said renewable benzenewith renewable propylene to form renewable cumene.
 66. The integratedprocess of claim 65, further comprising oxidizing said renewable cumeneto form renewable cumene hydroperoxide.
 67. The integrated process ofclaim 66, further comprising reacting said renewable cumenehydroperoxide with renewable propylene to form renewable propyleneoxide.
 68. The integrated process of claim 66, further comprisingcontacting said renewable cumene hydroperoxide with a catalyst to form amixture comprising renewable acetone and renewable phenol.
 69. Theintegrated process of claim 68, wherein said catalyst comprises anacidic catalyst.
 70. The integrated process of claim 68, furthercomprising reacting at least a portion of said renewable acetone with atleast a portion of said renewable phenol to provide renewable bisphenolA.
 71. The integrated process of claim 1, further comprising oxidizingat least a portion of said renewable isobutene, thereby forming amixture comprising renewable methacrolein.
 72. The integrated process ofclaim 71, further comprising oxidizing at least a portion of saidrenewable methacrolein, thereby forming a mixture comprising renewablemethacrylic acid.
 73. The integrated process of claim 72, furthercomprising reacting at least a portion of said renewable methacrylicacid with methanol, thereby forming methyl methacrylate.
 74. Theintegrated process of claim 73, wherein the methanol comprises renewablemethanol.
 75. The integrated process of claim 74, wherein the methylmethacrylate comprises renewable methyl methacrylate.
 76. The integratedprocess of claim 71, further comprising combining said renewablemethacrolein with methanol under oxidative conditions to form methylmethacrylate.